Effectiveness of Physlet computer animations for enhancing student learning of acoustic principles in a course for non-science majors
Andrew A. Piacsek, Ian Wright · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2007
A set of interactive computer animations of acoustic phenomena was created using the Java-based PHYSics appLETS (or physlets) developed at Davidson College [Christian and Belloni, 2001]. These animations allow the user to adjust certain parameters of a modeled system and view—in real time—the corresponding change in the physical behavior of the system. Because the animations are accessed via the web and can run on any computer (using Java), students can work with them in many different settings. The goal is to help students with limited math skills who enroll in PHYS103 ‘‘Physics of Musical Sound’’ at Central Washington University develop an intuitive understanding of basic acoustic phenomena and to assist them in applying quantitative reasoning to predict the behavior of musical systems. These newly-created acoustics and vibration physlets will be used for the first time during the Spring term, 2007, in the PHYS103 course taught by the author. Students will be given a quiz before and after working with the physlets on various topics to assess the effectiveness of this pedagogical tool.