This paper reports the use of Tracker as a computer-based learning tool to support effective learning and teaching of 'toss up' and free fall motion for beginning secondary three (15 year-old) students. The case study involved (N = 123) students from express pure physics classes at a mainstream school in Singapore. We used eight multiple-choice questions pre-and post-test to gauge the impact on learning. The experimental group showed learning gains of d = 0.79 ± 0.23 (large effect) for Cohen's d effect size analysis, and gains with a gradient of total = 0.42 ± 0.08 (medium gain) above the traditional baseline value of non interactive = 0.23 for Hake's normalized gain regression analysis. This applied to all of the teachers and students who participated in this study. Our initial research findings suggest that allowing learners to relate abstract physics concepts to real life through coupling traditional video analysis with video modelling might be an innovative and effective method for teaching and learning about free fall motion.

Smartphone is a powerful internet connected computer packed with internal sensors that measure sound, light, acceleration and magnetic field strength. Physics teachers can use them as measurement devices to demonstrate science concepts and promote the joy of learning. Some research has also shown the benefits of using smartphones for teaching and learning physics. This article aims to extend mobile phone research with our open source apps and low-cost experimental design. The three experiments that we designed include radioactivity, line spectrum, standing sound wave and polarization of light. Students are able to conduct experiments and collect data easily without using bulky data loggers or laptops. Substituting a data logger with a smartphone will mean that every student can possess his/her own measuring tool inside and outside the classroom, instead of having to share with a large group of students in a scheduled lab. By empowering the students to conduct their own experiments and collect data, the use of the smartphone as a tool aims to support student learning anytime and anywhere, igniting greater joy of learning.

This paper aims to share the use of Tracker-a free open source video analysis and modeling tool-that is increasingly used as a pedagogical tool for the effective learning and teaching of Physics for Grade 9 (Secondary 3)

The quantum eraser is a variation of the celebrated Young’s interference experiment that can be used to demonstrate the elusive complementarity principle in quantum physics. Here we show the construction of its classical analogue for deployment in classrooms in a simple, cost-effective yet robust manner by employing a laser pointer, double-slits, and polarizers.

Smartphones are widely available and used extensively by students worldwide. These phones often come equipped with high-quality cameras that can be combined with basic optical elements to build a cost-effective DIY spectrometer. Here, we discuss a series of demonstrations and pedagogical exercises, accompanied by our DIY diffractive spectrometer that uses a free web platform for instant spectral analysis. Specifically, these demonstrations can be used to encourage hands-on and inquiry-based learning of wave optics, broadband versus discrete light emission, quantization, Heisenberg’s energy-time uncertainty relation, and the use of spectroscopy in day-to-day life. Hence, these simple tools can be readily deployed in high school classrooms to communicate the practices of science.