Students in the experimental group used internet linked computers to do course materials.  Their time was spent doing three types of tasks; reading web pages, solving problems, and using online applications to describe real world situations.  To make the coursework meaningful, it must be varied.⁵ Some popular ways to use the internet in the classroom include web searches, simulations, and multimedia such as audio and movies.

Organizing the web pages was important so that the students would have a familiar framework to use.  If the format of the materials changed from topic to topic, students may have wondered if they were doing what they were supposed to be doing.
For this reason, each page was broken into sections with a different header graphic to tell the students what was in that section.
The different types of sections on th eweb pages were as follows:
 

Each online chapter began with a page outlining the goals for that chapter.  I wanted to provide students with something that would give them a sense of why they were doing the work.  Students also knew that I wrote their tests while looking at the goals laid out for them.  Whether or not the students were ready for the unit test presented a problem.  The teacher can see which online problems the students have solved and respond to emails, or even send out emails to the students, but the students themselves must decide on their own if they have mastery in any topic.²

The chapter web pages were written to correspond to the lecture materials provided in class.  Each page contained one topic.  The topic was described and examples were given.  Mathematical derivations were provided in places where I felt they were of particular use, or showed a special relationship.  Pictures or graphics were included as often as possible, as well as sample problems with their solutions.  For several pages, movie clips could be downloaded and analyzed.  A similar approach that achieved positive results was used in a high school physics class... students used image software to study the motions of objects in cartoons and use physics to see if the motions were realistic.¹²
To see a sample page that introduces students to vector addition by using a sample problem, click the link below.
add2vectors.htm

Equations were part of the notes.  Sometimes important equations arose directly from text notes, and sometimes they had to be derived.  In either case, in writing the pages, I tried to show all of the logic and steps necessary to arrive at a useful equation.

Links to outside sites provided students with site to visit for more information, or for some type of activity to do.  I found several sites with programs that students could run online from their web browers.  Such programs are called "applets" and the ones I linked to were all written in a computer language called "Java".   I have no idea how to work with Java, so these sites proved to be a valuable supplement to my notes and problems.
To see one of the outside sites involving vector addition, click the link below.  Instructions are provided at each site.  This particular applet lets students draw two vectors with their mouse, then the program graphically finds the sum of the two.
http://webphysics.davidson.edu/Applets/TaiwanUniv/vector/vector.html
This site will only work if your browser is capable of using Java.  Over ninety percent of people's browsers do support Java, and all of our school's computers are Java-ready, so this was not a problem for my students.

Sites like the one above were particularly useful to supplement the lecture notes.  The in class students had the opportunity to perform hands on lab activities, while the internet students had none.  By providing stidents with a structured question sheet, I could guide them through the use of various applets, and lead them toward understanding the goals for that chapter.
To see a page where my students had to use a Java applet , click the link below.
http://beaverton.k12.mi.us/teachers/mock/physics/summer99/mom4.htm

A chat room was provided where students could communicate instantly with others who were logged in.  Messages or questions could be left for others to see.  This provided an ideal environment for cheating, but the students were already working unsupervised in the school media center.  To find out how to solve an online problem, a student had only to wander around and find another student who had already completed the problem.  Since each student's problem used different variables, students could not entirely escape working out the problem unless they had friends willing to do the work for them.  The chat room is intented as a place where students can "share and discuss data and ideas, and collaborate on problem solving."⁴

The online problems are described here.

NEXT

TOC