138
Wednesday afternoon
Contributed – William Sams, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
27695-8202;
Colleen Lanz, M A. Paesler, North Carolina State University
eTALK is a reform of introductory physics laboratories that involves
students using their own laptops and simple equipment rather than propri-
etary probes and loggers. Students participate in a portable lab experience
that removes the need for a dedicated laboratory space while maintaining
synchronous contact with teaching assistants and other students. Students
use Blackboard Collaborate, Gmail, and WebAssign to communicate with
the instructor and submit results and conclusions, while simultaneously
harnessing the capabilities their own electronic devices to make high-qual-
ity measurements without complicated and unfamiliar equipment. Evalu-
ation of the eTALK initiative has been under way for several semesters in
calculus-based introductory mechanics at NC State with data collection
ranging from conceptual assessments and attitude surveys to video moni-
toring for analysis of student activities, interactions, and behaviors. Effects
on student performance, understanding, confidence, autonomy, lab skills,
and attitudes are all being examined. Selected results from the study will be
presented and discussed.
GC03:
1:20-1:30 p.m. Flexible Physics Mobile: YouTube
Bridges from Lecture to Lab
Contributed – Duncan L. Carlsmith, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1150
University Ave., Madison, WI 53706;
Aditya Singh, Lauren Wielgus, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Flexible Physics Mobile develops video-based educational objects bridg-
ing lecture and laboratory for undergraduate high-enrollment courses
in introductory physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each
video provides a brief pedagogical introduction to the physical concepts
to be explored and a visual introduction to the actual equipment to be
encountered, both tailored in sophistication to student preparation. The
2011-12 Educational Innovation project Flexible Physics for the Google
World explored techniques and protocols (video, stills, screencasts, anima-
tions, clickable transcripts, editing techniques). It developed educational
objects for UW-Madison Physics 104 and 208 which were deployed with
Flash technology through a department server. The 2013014 Flexible Phys-
ics Mobile project has redeployed legacy educational objects on YouTube
(search for Flexible Physics UWMadison) and has produced a suite of new
videos for Physics 103, Physics 207, Physics 201, Physics 202, and Physics
109. The videos are a) discoverable, b) maintainable, c) closed captioned,
d) available on mobile devices, and e) tagged and linked to related material.
Usage analytics data indicates high student engagement and retention. The
challenges, successes, and results of this project will be described.
GC04:
1:30-1:40 p.m. Newton’s Third Law: A Sample Online
Interactive Video Vignette
Contributed – Priscilla W. Laws, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA 17013;
David P. Jackson, Maxine C. Willis, Dickinson College
Robert B. Teese, Rochester Institute of Technology
Kathy Koenig, University of Cincinnati
The LivePhoto Physics Group has been creating and testing a series of
Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs) involving introductory physics topics.
Vignettes are designed for web delivery as short, ungraded exercises to sup-
plement textbook reading, or serve as pre-lecture or pre-laboratory activi-
ties. Each Vignette includes videos of a physical phenomenon, invites the
student to make predictions, complete observations and/or analyses, and,
finally, compare findings to the initial prediction(s). A sample Vignette
on Newton’s third law will be shown, and the speaker will discuss why the
group believes the Vignette is effective. (NSF #1122828 & #1123118).
GC05:
1:40-1:50 p.m. Impact of IVV on Student Understanding
of Newton’s Third Law*
Contributed – Kathleen M. Koenig, University of Cincinnati, 2600 Clifton Ave.,
Cincinnati, OH 45221;
Robert Teese, Rochester Institute of Technology
Bohr proposed that the electron orbits have angular momentums that
are discrete multiples of h-bar. Consequently, the orbits are occupied by
standing waves, and no radiation takes place in them. However, radia-
tion by an accelerating charge is a fact of electrodynamics. And Bohr’s
argument defies experiment, and places the electron-proton atom out of
the laws of Electrodynamics. We will assume that the Proton’s orbits too,
have angular momentums that are discrete multiples of h-bar. And that the
energy radiated by the accelerating proton into the electron field equals the
energy radiated by the accelerating electron into the proton field. Keeping
the orbits energies in a dynamic equilibrium. This allows us to compute
the Nucleus Radius of the Electron-Proton Atom. We obtain a radius of the
order of 1/10
12
.
GB08:
2:20-2:30 p.m. Fostering Positive Cultural Changes in
College STEM Departments*
Contributed – Joel C. Corbo, CU Boulder, Physics Department, Boulder, CO
80309-0390;
Noah Finkelstein, Melissa Dancy, Stanley Deetz, Paul Chinowsky, Colorado
University, Boulder
In recent years, many efforts have been made to enact changes in STEM
departments, courses, and curricula in order to improve the experiences of
undergraduate students. These efforts have generally focused on dissemi-
nating curricula and pedagogy, developing reflective teachers, or enacting
institutional policy, but they have rarely succeeded in creating large-scale,
systemic cultural changes in departments. Our project tackles the problem
of STEM education improvement via an “all of the above” approach
by working with individual faculty, whole departments, and university
policymakers simultaneously. Moreover, our departmental cultural change
efforts will be one of the first attempts at such a holistic reform, and as such
could serve as a model for similar efforts in other departments and at other
institutions. We will report on our initial findings into the challenges and
possibilities inherent in such an approach.
*Project supported by the Association of American Universities.
Session GC: Best Practices in Educa-
tional Technology II
Location: STSS 412
Sponsor: Committee on Educational Technologies
Date: Wednesday, July 30
Time: 1–3 p.m.
Presider: Frances Mateycik
GC01:
1-1:10 p.m. How I Met Your Motherboard: Integrating
Smartphones into Classrooms
Contributed – Colleen L. Countryman,* North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC 27695;
Michael A. Paesler, William R. Sams, North Carolina State University
In the current technological environment, most students own smart-
phones. These smartphones contain internal sensors capable of collecting
data in instructional physics labs. By utilizing these devices, university
teaching laboratories can decrease their dependence on costly proprietary
software, sensors, and sensor interfaces. Also, since students are typically
already familiar with personal devices, pedagogical hurdles often encoun-
tered in instructional physics labs are diminished. MyTech is a series of
labs that takes advantage of these devices in a first-semester mechanics
lab at NC State. The MyTech labs require no more than a smartphone
(and a computer webcam) and free software to collect data. We present
preliminary results from the shifts in kinematic graph skills, attitudes and
technological anxiety that occur with the MyTech lab curriculum to those
that occur with a traditional lab curriculum. We discuss some common
obstacles encountered in this case study and how best to avoid them.
*Sponsored by Dr. Robert Beichner and Dr. Michael Paesler
GC02:
1:10-1:20 p.m. Results from eTALK: Effects of Real-
Time Distance Labs
