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Virtual Physics Laboratory

Year: 2007
Name of Institution:
Polyhedron Learning Media, Inc.
Goal: Fast Track
Principal Investigator:
Finstein, Jeanne
Award Amount: $850,000
Award Period: 2.5 years
Award Number: ED07CO0040

Description:

Product Video Demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1UQX7TqzU

Purpose: Introductory college physics courses typically include laboratory sections that are taught as separate courses by junior faculty or graduate students in laboratories equipped with various forms of instrumentation. As budget cuts become more prevalent, it has become increasingly difficult for colleges to upgrade lab equipment and maintain adequate teaching and grading staff. The purpose of this project is to develop a set of web-based virtual labs that could fully replace—or be used as a supplement for—hands-on labs in a typical introductory physics course.

Project Activities: The team is developing 28 virtual labs, including topics such as vector addition of forces, uniform motion, kinematics, Newton's Second Law, and conservation of energy. In order to assess feasibility and usability, and to gather preliminary data on potential efficacy of the intervention, a randomized trial will be conducted in 21 physics classrooms at three universities. Treatment Group 1 classes will use the technology as a supplement to actual hands-on laboratory activities. Treatment Group 2 classes will use only the virtual laboratories. A set of comparison classes will use only the hands-on equipment. Analyses will examine students' performance on a standardized physics exam before and after a semester long course.

Products: The final product will be a set of virtual labs that are accessible online. Each lab will include information and activities to be completed before and after the virtual laboratory activities are completed, along with a virtual reality simulation, video, and printable lab report. The product is intended to provide students and faculty with a realistic supplement to, or replacement of, hands-on experimental labs.