Many instructors recognize the need to better integrate computational physics into the undergraduate curriculum, but it is difficult to know what resources are available and how to sort through them. This talk will give some concrete examples of using computational physics in the classroom. It will demonstrate how to find resources that are part of a developing collection for computational physics on ComPADRE (www.compadre.org), the digital library for the physics community. It will then describe effective uses of these materials ranging from ready-to-run simulations to code that students can modify themselves.
The resources are an outgrowth of the Open Source Physics Project (www.opensourcephysics.org), generously supported by NSF DUE-0442581.
The Tracker video analysis program allows users to overlay simple dynamic particle models on a video clip. In a typical video modeling experiment students capture and open a digital video file, calibrate the scale, and define appropriate coordinate axes just as for traditional video analysis. But instead of tracking objects with the mouse, students define theoretical force expressions and initial conditions for a dynamic model simulation that synchronizes with and draws itself on the video. The behavior of the model is thus compared directly with that of the real-world motion. Tracker uses the Open Source Physics code library so sophisticated models are possible. Video modeling offers advantages over both traditional video analysis and simulation-only modeling. This electronic poster will showcase video modeling experiments produced by students in my Fall 2007 Introductory Mechanics course.
The Tracker video analysis program is available at: < http://www.cabrillo.edu/~dbrown/tracker/ >.
Partial funding was provided by NSF grant DUE-0442581.
With the explosion of material on the Web, digital libraries have increasingly become an important resource for teachers and curriculum developers alike. The value of digital libraries, such as ComPADRE, and other curricular-specific search engines, such as BQLearning, is their ability to cut through the digital “noise” to provide high-quality material to teachers by cataloging, organizing, and ranking their content. Similarly, ComPADRE and BQLearning allow curriculum authors an avenue to disseminate and receive feedback on their materials. Recently we have begun to write Open Source Physics (OSP) materials specifically for dissemination by ComPADRE and BQLearning by using HTML- and XML-based materials that can be easily integrated and better searched for easier dissemination. Examples from classical mechanics, general relativity, and quantum mechanics will be presented with the focus on how ComPADRE and BQLearning have helped us improve and distribute OSP material.
The Open Source Physics Project is generously supported by the National Science Foundation (DUE-0442581).