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Computer Intensive Physics Robert G. Fuller Portugal Conference March 6, 199829 University of Nebraska - Lincoln

While you are doing this you are waiting a few seconds for the computer to go back and forth between the programs. The computers we have today do not really do multi-tasking. It does not work well. It takes too long. The students can not keep track of what it is they are suppose to do. All of my students at Nebraska did not own their own computers (See Figure 49). They had to go to the Physics Learning Center or to the Computer Center, or to some place in their residence hall to get access to the computers. It is a big problem in doing "Paperless Physics".

Grading and giving electronic feedback is difficult. For example if students are working in a small group at computer 6 in the classroom. At the end of the class they mail their class activity to me. I grade it. If I reply it goes back to the classroom computer 6. I need some way of knowing the personal e-mail addresses of the students and so when I reply the grades go automatically back to them. I did not have a way of doing that. So I would collect electronic homework and try to distribute the grades somehow electronically. My software did not really support this. It takes a long time to read homework on a computer screen.

The next point goes back to the topic that I mentioned before (See Figure 49). I need a better metaphor for teaching software. It is not just key strokes. It is some mental picture of what is happening when you do key strokes. I have not figured it out how to teach this. I just know it is a problem for my students. Going to "Paperless Physics" changes the physics I can do (See Figure 49). I did not adjust the physics content properly. I just took the regular course that I teach in 15 weeks and I tried to teach everything just as I would normally. It had a big impact on the distribution of student grades. Normally in the United States we have a the Bell Curve. We give a few "A's" a few more "B's" lots of "C's" a few "D's" and a fewer "F's". In this class there were students who could do it and students who could not do it. And it divided the class into two groups. The students that could not do it quit. They dropped out. That was a fairly large percentage, about 30%. I am not exactly sure why that is. It may be that some students thought learning from a computer is like a

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Computer Intensive Physics Robert G. Fuller	Portugal Conference	March 6, 199829 University of Nebraska - Lincoln
While you are doing this you are waiting a few seconds for the computer to go back and forth between the programs. The computers we have today do not really do multi-tasking. It does not work well. It takes too long. The students can not keep track of what it is they are suppose to do. All of my students at Nebraska did not own their own computers (See Figure 49). They had to go to the Physics Learning Center or to the Computer Center, or to some place in their residence hall to get access to the computers. It is a big problem in doing "Paperless Physics". Grading and giving electronic feedback is difficult. For example if students are working in a small group at computer 6 in the classroom. At the end of the class they mail their class activity to me. I grade it. If I reply it goes back to the classroom computer 6. I need some way of knowing the personal e-mail addresses of the students and so when I reply the grades go automatically back to them. I did not have a way of doing that. So I would collect electronic homework and try to distribute the grades somehow electronically. My software did not really support this. It takes a long time to read homework on a computer screen. The next point goes back to the topic that I mentioned before (See Figure 49). I need a better metaphor for teaching software. It is not just key strokes. It is some mental picture of what is happening when you do key strokes. I have not figured it out how to teach this. I just know it is a problem for my students. Going to "Paperless Physics" changes the physics I can do (See Figure 49). I did not adjust the physics content properly. I just took the regular course that I teach in 15 weeks and I tried to teach everything just as I would normally. It had a big impact on the distribution of student grades. Normally in the United States we have a the Bell Curve. We give a few "A's" a few more "B's" lots of "C's" a few "D's" and a fewer "F's". In this class there were students who could do it and students who could not do it. And it divided the class into two groups. The students that could not do it quit. They dropped out. That was a fairly large percentage, about 30%. I am not exactly sure why that is. It may be that some students thought learning from a computer is like a
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