Students in introductory college physics often have wide ranges of preparation, making it challenging to deliver effective instruction for all. While numerous educational products and strategies have been shown to be broadly effective, there is a need for research-based online materials that support personalized learning and focus specifically on…

This paper describes a high school or introductory university course in scientific programming that introduces the computer revolution into the physics curriculum at the beginning. In the first one-hour lecture, Euler's method is presented and used to compute a solution to the analytically unsolvable two-body problem. In the remainder of the…

Pencasts are videos of problem solving with narration by the problem solver. Pedagogically, students can create pencasts to illustrate their own problem solving to the instructor or to their peers. Pencasts have implications for teaching at multiple levels from elementary grades through university courses. In this article, we describe the use of…

From MP3 players to cell phones to computer games, we're surrounded by a constant stream of ones and zeros. Do we really need to know how this technology works? While nobody can understand everything, digital technology is increasingly making our lives a collection of "black boxes" that we can use but have no idea how they work. Pursuing…

Modeling has been shown to correct weaknesses of traditional instruction by engaging students in the design of physical models to describe, explain, and predict phenomena. Although the modeling method can be used without computers, the use of computers allows students to study problems that are difficult and time consuming, to visualize their…