Cool Physix & Astronomy Apps to Consider

I thought starting the academic semester/year with a bunch of Physix Apps and strategies for acquiring them might be the best gift I give my fellow Physix teachers and instructors the world over.

So, within this PDF file I listed all the Apps I currently own, which I hope you can acquire as many of them as possible to make your educational experience with your students a richer experience at least as far as mobile devices technology is concerned.

Please, keep in mind that most of the apps were free when I first got them but some either were removed from the App store or a price was added to them.

Mr. Le Nadj! suggestions regarding app acquirement:

1) Check the app store every two weeks or so and search for new apps dealing with specific topics you are interested in.

2) Sift through the junk by setting the search criteria to be Free & the display to be based on Ratings so that you get the free apps that got the best ratings.

3) Download the chosen app(s) even if you may not think you would need it right away because they may either disappear or become pricy. You still can delete them if need be.

Happy Educational App Year! :-)

Are Simulations Effective?

Simulations programs such as Interactive Physics, PhET, Physlets , iDevices Apps help students either generate animations such as my Gravity Animation or manipulate physical quantities to generate what if situations regarding various Physix phenomena. 

What is your experience with such educational tools and how effective you think they are in advancing your students' understanding of Physix concepts?  

iDevice Physix App of the Month

In my article "iPad & weightlessness" in Volume 50, Issue 5, May 2012 I mentioned that I used the free app AccelGraph to take the acceleration measurements. Unfortunately, that cool app (which I still have and enjoy) has since been removed from the App Store for unstated reasons.

So, here is an alternate app that should do the job equally well and it is my choice for the Physix App of the Month.

a-logger

My students and I used this app on numerous occasions with iPhones and iPad and it operated quite well each time. One of its strongest features is the ability to set it to do delayed recordings that start any time in the future. In an upcoming blog (ISA) I will share examples of how my students and I used the app to extend and deepen our understanding of motion and its properties.

If you have used another app that accomplishes the same tasks, share its name and how you and your students used it to further your investigation of the Physix of motion. Thank you

My students have been working on a series of four experiments that are part of a major lab "Wave-O-Rama" that is trying to weave a common thread amongst all of them; what happens to waves when they interfere or diffract?

One of the experiments, Nothing Beats Fourier, introduces students to the concept of synthesis of waveforms from basic sine functions through the use of WolftamAlpha and the iDevice apps that are listed below according to the level of Coolism.

Coolism: Fourier Synthesizer
Cool: Sound Uncovered
Semi Cool: Fourier Touch

Give these apps a try in your classroom and share how your experience went. In addition, if you wish to have a copy of my lab sheet, please fire me an email.