In spring 2020, campuses across the world had to adpat its teaching practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) decided to switch all teaching to remote or online teaching with very little notice. During the summer of 2020 NEIU decided that most of the courses would continue this practice, with a few exceptions. Having the summer to prepare, I decided to teach Mechanics I and Modern Physics I using a flipped classroom approach. Lectures are recorded ahead of time using Zoom and the built-in whiteboard for problem solving. Before the lecture a Just-in-Time WarmUp quiz is administered and the results are used fo rthe initial discussion in the scheduled virtual lecture. After the discussion, students move into Zoom breakout rooms for group work on problem solving and conceptual discussions. I will present the successes and challenges of this approach on a Urban campus. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the spring 2020 semester was interrupted for many institutions, forcing classes to move online.  While many professors cobbled together resources to complete the spring semester, the summer allowed time to develop inexpensive resources to better serve our physics courses, incorporating hands-on activities to increase student engagement and understanding of the material while distance-learning.  We have created ten introductory physics lab activities for General Physics I and eight introductory physics lab activities for General Physics II to be performed by students at home in place of the traditional laboratory experience, using simple, inexpensive lab kits and free or inexpensive software and smart phone apps. These lab activities were implemented at Henderson State University during the summer and fall 2020 semesters and could also be adapted for use in high school classrooms.

A full-featured AV setup for a lightboard lecture capture system is presented that adds new features and at a dramatically-lower cost (using a Raspberry Pi, an HDMI switcher, and a Stream Deck macro keyboard). A teacher can, for instance, annotate transparent Power Point slides. Similar techniques can be adapted to capture screencasts that are more engaging without the need for post-production work. 

Physics models matter and its interactions in a world with three spatial dimensions.   It helps our understanding if we can visualize the predictions of a model.  This is particular important for introductory physics courses.  For some system three-dimensional visual representations can give us a better understanding of the behavior of the system than two-dimensional representations..

We are developing 3D interactive animations that run in any modern browser.  No special plug-ins are needed.  (http://labman.phys.utk.edu/3D%20Physics/) In particular, we are developing tools for optics laboratories.  Students are be able to move components on an optical breadboard, align the components, trace a He-Ne laser beam through the system and make measurement.  (http://labman.phys.utk.edu/3D%20Physics/optics.html) These tools already form the basis for several online introductory physics laboratories.

Desmos is a surprisingly powerful web-based graphing calculator. I present a quick sample of my Desmos visualizations that I created for my introductory and intermediate physics courses. The URLs to these visualizations will be made available. One nice feature of Desmos is that the end user can look inside to see how things were done.

I begin with the visualization of functions (from kinematics, traveling waves, and electric potentials), with parameters controlled by sliders. I then show 2D-visualizations of equipotentials and of wave-interference using implicit functions in Desmos. (Details of the wave-interference visualization will be described in a related poster.) I next briefly describe some geometric visualizations of spacetime diagrams and differential forms (dual vectors) that I use to teach relativity. I conclude with a visualization of the Dirac Delta Function as a sequence of definite-integrals in Desmos [following the presentation in Griffiths’ Introduction to Electrodynamics].  

Having the opportunity to learn computer science is something every high school student should have; however, according to the 2020 State of Computer Science Education: Illuminating Disparities report, only 47% of high schools in America teach computer science. One solution may be to integrate computer science into other courses; and science courses, especially physics, are prime candidates for such an integration. But many teachers may be hesitant to integrate computer science for any number of reasons, including an unwillingness to cut content, a belief that students may not be capable of succeeding, or even lack of confidence in their own ability to program or teach programming.

The author would like to share his experience weaving coding principles into both upperclass and 9th grade physics classes at a New Jersey K-12 day school, and share stories and advice on overcoming obstacles to implementing a "computational physics" course. No coding experience required!

Research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) have been proven effective in improving student learning gains and in reducing course drop rates. Unfortunately, these strategies are not the norm for many physics departments. Studies indicate that some 1/3 of instructors who try RBIS discontinue the use, perhaps because the RBIS were not seen as successful or were viewed as too time consuming. One possible remedy is to have faculty looking to try RBIS co-teach with instructors who’ve previously used these strategies. We will report on our experiences flipping an upper-level quantum mechanics course working with just such a model. We believe this approach could increase the number of instructors who decide to try RBIS as well as increase the probability that these first attempts will lead to further use.