VIDEO CLIP...

Visual person will love it.

Do you struggle figuring out something by just listening to someone explaination? Do you find pictures or graphic help you to imagine or understand better?  If yes, you are a visual leaner who process information that they can see better than information that they hear.

Teaching a large group of students is very challenging as they might need different approach of learning. Some can understand by just listening.  Some might need audio as well as visual.  Some might need a hands on acitivity to helps them figure it out.  So, I prefer to use various approach to make sure my students understand better.

When teaching about process and application of science concept, I prefer to use video as teaching aid.  For lower form students, videos from dr binocs show and It's AumSum Time channels are highly recommended.  I love their ilustration and cartoon animation.  As for the upper form students, I will look for videos that are more informative and realistic. 

Have you ever experience a silent moment when you ask your students about the video they just watched.  Then only I realise that they need some guidance so that they could get the content that we want them to get from the video.  Later on, I figure out some ways to make learning through video more effective. 

First, you might want to give them some questions in which they need to find the answer in the video clip.  Or you might want to play the video then pause when you need to clarify something. Other than that, you might want the students to discuss first before you show the video.

Last week I teach about electromagnet. When it comes to the application of the concept in daily life, I ask the student to discuss in group. I walk around and asked them to explain to evaluate their understanding.  Some could understand through the picture but some struggling to imagine it.  So, video will be the best solutions. 

However, not all video meets the objective of the learning. Some videos are too simple while some are too advanced.  Some video might use different terms and slang.  Looking on one side, advanced video is a good exposure for the students to get extra knowledge.  However, teacher must make sure that the students are not confused with the terms used and highlight the important parts that they must understand.  Teacher should also preview the video before showing it to the students to avoid any content that is not appropriate.   

Other than that, it is also consumed much time searching for the best video.  So, preparation beforehand is very important.  Since other teacher might facing the same problem, I decided to share the link of the video to the Whatsapp groups whenever I found a useful video. Here I share link of the videos that might be useful for your teaching and learning process.

Dr Binocs Show

It's AumSum Time

SIMULATION TIME!!!

Vector analysis…Don’t forget the direction, please!

A physical quantity could be either scalar or vector quantity.  Scalar analysis should be as easy as a pies but the vector analysis might be quite challenging.  It requires calculation that also consider the direction of motion as well.  Attempt question written on the paper requires students to imagine it by themselves.  Some students able to do this but some of them need a visual aid.  So, animation could be a better alternative.

So, I start searching for interesting simulation and found quite a number of websites that offer it such as Physcis Classroom, Phet simulation etc.  Choosing the most suitable simulation is very important.  Some simulation might be too sophisticated to handle which will be time consuming.  So, choose the one that the simulation suits your students’ level of thinking and meet your learning objective.  Remember, technology should be a learning aid not the other way round.

After attempt a few websites, I choose Vector analysis simulation offered by  physicsclassroom.com website .  This is because it provides a simple and helpful tool.  Ideally, it is better if every student could explore it by himself or herself but due to some limitation, I decided to project the simulation using LCD projector in the laboratory.  To make it more interesting, I asked them to work with their partner.  Each pair is given a mini whiteboard to write their answer.  Then, they need to raise the whiteboard to show their answer.  How excited they were when having the chance to write on the whiteboard.

The activity requires them to observe an animation then calculate the distance and displacement respectively.  There are situations of car in a parking lot, skier on the gold course and shopping car on aisle.  For the first attempt, they request to repeat the animation a few times before calculating the distance and displacement.  Only one-third of the class able to answer correctly.  For the second attempt, half of the class manage to give a correct answer.  In the third attempts, all of them able to get the correct answers.   A big clap for themselves!!!

From my observation, they enjoy the activity so much.  It is quite challenging to analyze a moving object at first.  However, they took the challenge and try to improve. As a result, there is improvement after several attempts.  Other than that, they also show good cooperation among them.  I found that some of them try to explain the concept to their partner during the activity.

Overall, simulation give more lively experiences to the students which helps them to relate it with the daily life activities especially those who is visual person.  However, it is quite challenging to find simulation that meet our objective.  So, creating your own simulation might be the next solutions.  For a more sophisticated one, teacher should try it beforehand and sometimes setting the properties prior to the class will help to save time.  Looking forward to explore more website for more simulations.

GOOGLE MAPS FOR PHYSICISTS

Distance versus displacement.  Speed versus Velocity 

They look similar but not the same.  It is quite challenging to teach the students about their differences.  They know the definition but unable to imagine it.  They learn more when they can relate the concept with their daily life experiences.   I try to use a 400 m running track as an example.  A person who complete a 400 m run has covered distance of 400 m but his displacement is 0m.  It does help but I’m looking for a more interesting example that use technology. 

While preparing the lesson plan I came across an example that use google map to show the distance.  Why don't I use the same example to differentiate between distance and displacement! But wait...Usually they google maps only shows the total path traveled.  How do I show them the displacement on the map?  Do I need to use a ruler instead or some calculation?  

It is time to explore the google maps.  I search the internet to find information.  To my surprise, there is a feature that enable us to determine the displacement from one place to another place. First, we need to determine the starting point and the destination.  Then use the right click and choose measure distance from the options provided.  Here we go...google maps give you the shortest distance between starting point and end point which is known as displacement.  For example, distance from MRSM Sungai Besar to Tanjong Malim is 59.5 km shown by blue line on the maps while the displacement is 43.25 km to the east shown by the scale.

Whoa...that is so amazing! I've never knew about it before.  A voice full of amazement heard from the back of the classroom. I smile while looking at my students' bright face.  They seem to understand the topic.  That's a good sign on how technology helps in learning and teaching process. Next, we try some other starting points and destinations according to students’ preference.  I asked them to determine the distance and displacement of the two places.  They able to differentiate between these two concepts.

Moving to the next chapter, I also used Google maps for the students to differentiate between the speed and velocity of the car.  To get the average speed of car, they need to calculate the total distance over total time taken.  For the average velocity, they need to calculate the displacement over total time taken.  This can be done since Google maps indicate the distance as well as the estimated time taken. 

Google maps has done a good job.  It is not only showing the route for the traveler to get them to the destination but also showing the way for my physics student to understand about the distance and displacement as well as speed and velocity.  The compass feature in Google maps also helps the students to determine the direction which is useful in determining the vector quantity such as displacement and velocity.  I am looking forward to explore Google maps as my teaching and learning tools.