Thanks to Dr. Shivakumar I. Ranganathan of American University of Sharjah for pointing me to an excellent collection of java simulations for teaching dynamics and controls. See below a screenshot for a double pendulum simulation:
Click here for other models. You will need to install the Java plugin.
Would it be useful to include an interactive simulation as part of an assessment of force and motion concepts?
Before you answer this question, take this survey and experience the difference. Here is a screenshot showing one of the questions:
Just in case any of the models looks empty, please move the mouse pointer inside the window to refresh. Note that if you are using a mac, you will only be able to see the first model and not the remaining two because of a known issue on mac for models with images.
We added charts in embedded simulations as shown below.
1. Select the Show Chart checkbox
2. Mouse over the Chart legend: text to get a drop down showing different signal options
3. Select the signals you want charted
Proud of the team of students at Heritage High School in Virginia, Ouchi High School in Los Angeles and Colts Neck High School in New Jersey who took on a biomechanics research problem and worked on using online collaboration tools. The biology team, led by Amol Patel, prepared the following presentation on muscle mechanics:
SimInsights Biology Team Presentation
The math team, led by Ajoy Vase, prepared the following video describing the math behind long jump:
The physics team, led by Joseph Santonacita, created the following four videos describing the force and motion concepts to their math and biology counterparts:
This multidisciplinary collaborative simulation project was conducted according to the Project Based Learning (PBL) framework. The teams used Google docs for collaborative document creation, Skype for teleconferencing and SimInsights for collaborative simulation, among others. The slides used for presentation at National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference in March 2011 in San Francisco are available here.
A study conducted by Physics nobelist Carl Weiman has found that clicker style teaching is more effective than traditional lecture style teaching. Here is an excerpt: "The classes' test scores were nearly identical before the interactive sessions, but there was an obvious difference after the students took a 12-question quiz on what they were taught during the experimental week of instruction. Students in the interactive class got an average of 74 percent of the questions right, while those taught using traditional method scored only 41 percent."
You can now attach images to the bodies in your SimMotion2D model, making them come alive with meaning so that viewers can immediately understand what they represent. It can take a few moments to load, so please be patient, and remember to move your mouse within the window. The model below shows a shuttle, a tank and a car moving with constant speed. Gravity is turned off.
Irvine, CA, March 24th, 2011- Orange County Engineering Council http://www.ocec.org/home/index.htm has awarded SimInsights grant funds to conduct a simulation contest for Orange County high school students over the next 2-3 months.
The OCEC grant of $500 will be used to conduct a modeling and simulation contest for high school students. The grant money will be spent on prizes, promotion and training for students. The contest will challenge students to build simulations used to teach physics and engineering concepts to their fellow students.
“Today simulation based jobs are among the highest paid and highest status careers in practically every industry. By working with SimInsights simulation software, high school students will have an opportunity to work and think like professionals and gain valuable skills for college and career readiness”, said Rajesh Jha, SimInsights Founder.
SimInsights offers a broad selection of educational simulation software and games designed to enhance the learning experience and offer the students an interactive and collaborative learning environment.
SimNewton, SimOhm, SimMotion2D and Physics to the Rescue are but a few of the growing number of tools available on SimInsights website (www.siminsights.com). These tools provide hands on physics experience to students, while allowing the teachers to create more challenging and compelling problems that stimulate the classroom and entice the students to experiment and learn more by doing.
According to Mr. Rich Gallaher, Orange County Engineering Council’s Vice President of Education: “SimInsights is a promising technology which we would like young students to be involved with for its value. The SimInsights software allows students to visualize and model engineering in real life. This is an opportunity which the students before them have not had”.
About SimInsights
SimInsights’ mission is to produce collaborative simulation software and games that engage students worldwide and help develop genuine understanding of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts.
SimInsights is a California company founded based on nearly a decade of experience in producing simulation software for professional engineers and scientists at Fortune 500 companies including Boeing, Toyota and Porsche.
About Orange County Engineering Council
Orange County Engineering Council’s goal is to enhance the public image of engineers and scientists and promote the interaction of professional societies and engineering/scientific corporations and universities in Orange County California. OCEC's continued success is dependent on the financial support and active involvement of our member societies and corporate sponsors. If you are not already a sponsor or active member of OCEC, please contact us to learn more. OCEC is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization
For more information, contact:
SimInsights siminsights@gmail.com 714 651 4104
Orange County Engineering Council Vice President Education Rich Gallaher, SMIEEE Huntington Beach, CA Phone: (714) 261-1419 Email:Richard.M.Gallaher@boeing.com
The simulation below shows the dynamics of balls and blocks. The sim was created using SimMotion2D in less than 1 minute. SimMotion2D is the latest addition to the suite of collaborative simulation software from SimInsights.
This sim was embedded in this blog using the embed tag provided by SimMotion2D, much like YouTube and other web 2.0 sites.
My first interaction with Chris Rogers was at Florida State University in fall, 1997 where he gave a lecture quite similar to the one in the following video:
After the lecture, my advisor at the time, a control theory researcher, was so excited he came to our lab and asked if he should go ahead and buy a lego kit for us to do controls experiments with.
In the video, Chris wonders why its important to us that every kid knows how to read Harry Potter before age 8 but not understand how a car works? He argues that as kids go through adolescence, their curiosity shifts from the physical to the social. So first 3-4 years of education must focus on engineering before the social aspects grab kids' attention.
Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff and Jason Haas write in their whitepaper:
"Games, simulations, and social networking are already permeating the workplace as productivity and development tools—we may be doing our students a large disservice by not integrating these tools into their education."
They provide numerous examples of teachers who had integrated games, simulations and social networking tools in their classes.
Angela M. Kelly of Lehman College (CUNY, Bronx, NY) writes in an article in The Physics Teacher:
"In a conceptual physics class designed for ninth-graders, Icreated a structured activity where students applied Newton's laws toa series of free applications downloaded on iPod Touches. Thelaws had been introduced during the prior class session withtextual descriptions and graphical representations. The course is offered aspart of the Enlace Latino Collegiate Society, a weekend enrichmentprogram for middle and high school students in the Bronx.The majority of students had limited or no prior exposureto physics concepts, and many attended high schools where physicswas not offered at all. "
Following the table of nine free iphone apps from the article:
SimInsights software was demonstrated at the Cyberlearning Tools for STEM Education (CyTSE) Conference in Berkeley. The conference was organized by National Science Foundation and brought together leading researchers in learning sciences, education technology and related fields.
All the keynotes were deeply insightful.On Wednesday morning, Dan Schwartz of Stanford University and Margaret Hilton presented the highlights of the latest NRC report which recognizes the tremendous potential of simulations and games. In the afternoon, Allan Collins of Northwestern University and Richard Halverson of University of Wisconsin presented excellent overviews of the revolution that is sweeping the field of education.
