the physical world: multimedia physics at a distance jon rosewell, fiona thomson - ces canan...
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The Physical World: Multimedia physics at a distance
Jon Rosewell, Fiona Thomson - CES
Canan Tosunoglu Blake - IET
The Open University
A mixed media course
BooksVideoComputingTutorialsResidential schoolAssignments, exam
Software components
Multimedia packagesInteractive questions packagesPhysicaGuide, glossary, extras, ...FirstClass conferences
Demo
Waves
Evaluation Study
Developmental testing– observations– mini questionnaires and informal interviews
Summative evaluation– questionnaires– residential school interviews– end of year survey
Developmental testing
at the residential school of a Physics coursecovered eight multimedia packagesobservationmini questionnaireinformal interviews afterwards
Observations
17 hours in totalrecorded students’ input to the computer,
calculations and notes, verbatim commentsmainly individual usevideo recording of a few sessions
Findings - Use of audio
many comments about audio/texthard to listen and read at same time need ability to pause, repeat and switch offwhere should attention be focused -
simulation or text?bullet points synchronized with audio
worked best
More Findings...
buttons and controls must be clearprogress report: where am I?typing in answers – in what form?comments and suggestions were used to
improve the programs
Findings from the questionnaire
What did you learn from the program?“What an electron scatter image actually looks like. Reinforced reason why photons (light) is not used to detect electrons”
Best thing about the program as a learning tool:“The freedom of selection of the changing parameters of the diffraction and the display of the effects of these changes”
Least helpful aspect of the program:“Layout of formulae on screen line after line and narrative talks about one that isn’t clearly obvious. ”
Open ended comment
“…[the program] was very clear, and explained what the experiments were attempting to clarify. There is no other way that I could have seen an interference pattern building up and have the chance to examine how altering variables will affect the outcome… Thanks very much. An almost reformed computer-phobe.”
Summative Evaluation
2 questionnaires sent to 2 different groups of 100 students– general questions and program specific
questions about 6 of the packages
interviews in the courses residential schoolend of year survey
Selected Findings - Summative
71 percent had previous experience of CAL and/or CD-ROMs (mostly in other OU courses)
navigation found easy by 92 percent of students
audio in the programs was found to be OK by almost 100 percent and controlling audio was found easy by 92 percent of students
Was time doing the package well spent?
Was time well spent?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
SHM
Newton
Fields
Gas
Huygens
Schrodinger
pro
gra
ms
percentage
yes no don't know
Feedback useful?
0
20
40
60
80
100
SH
M
New
ton
FFP
Gas
Huygens
Schro
agree undecided disagree
Effective to learn?
0
20
40
60
80
100
SH
M
New
ton
FFP
Gas
Huygens
Schro
agree undecided disagree
Helped understanding?
0
20
40
60
80
100
SH
M
New
ton
FFP
Gas
Huygens
Schro
agree undecided disagree
Clear what to do?
0
20
40
60
80
100
SH
M
New
ton
FFP
Gas
Huygens
Schro
agree undecided disagree
Percentage of students carrying out their own investigations N=62
26.2
49.2
18
1.6 4.9
0
20
40
60
alw
ays
mo
st o
f the
time
so
me
time
s
rare
ly
ne
ver
Open ended comments
38 students made general comments17 positive comments, 8 negative
comments about CD-ROMs, and lots of comments on other components
negative comments mostly time related, significant figures, too much computing, wants different style of CD-ROMs, could not find some extra programs
Open ended comments
“I have really enjoyed the CD ROMs as a way to consolidate what I have learned from the text and to iron out any problems of grasping the concepts of the material. They will be enjoyable and essential when revision time arrives.”
“It has been very useful to visualise scientific phenomenon such as waves, fields, forces etc. which one obviously cannot see in real life.”
Conclusions
programs were well used and perceived as helpful learning tools
visual aspects and experiment/simulation facilities valuable
the programs provide experiences that could not be achieved through other medium
students think the time is well spentstyle of audio seemed to work wellwell integrated with the course