Monday, December 16, 2002

A Virtual Laboratory Simulates Physics Experiments By DAN CARNEVALE A virtual laboratory under development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro aims to let students experiment with physics concepts without physically being in a lab. Computer simulations and graphic animations will replace equipment and instruments as students go online to test principles of mechanics, waves, electricity, magnetism, and optics. The lab is being designed to help distance-education students satisfy an introductory-science lab requirement. Gerald W. Meisner, a physics professor at Greensboro who is the project's director, says the virtual lab will attempt to recreate as much of the lab experience as possible. The lab, called Learn Anytime Anywhere Physics, will include computer simulations of all kids of things that are commonly found in a lab, such as tables, instruments, and even other students. Most distance-education courses provide text, video, e-mail exchanges, and other mock-ups of textbooks and classrooms, he says. That approach works well enough for a history or a literature course, he says, but for a course that involves experimentation, like physics, the online version needs to let students explore to learn. "Online education so far has been dealing with information transfer, which the Internet is very good at, and training," Mr. Meisner says. "But learning and getting at cognitive development is very, very different. And so far, that has not been done." The virtual lab is being created to allow students to experiment and approach scientific questions the same way a scientist does, he says. Instead of being taught a concept directly, students will be encouraged to discover it on their own. For example, students will learn the concepts of kinetics and constant velocity by working on assignments in which they calculate the speed of animated remote-controlled cars and create graphs with the data, he says. In a traditional lab, a professor is on hand to serve as an adviser and mentor. "Essentially it's an apprenticeship of learning, and there's a lot of give and take," Mr. Meisner says. For the virtual lab, a virtual professor will ask questions as a student conducts experiments. How the student answers will let the computer program know how well the student is grasping the physics concepts. Mr. Meisner is including in the computer program a list of possible responses from the students for every question asked. The computer will immediately correct a student who gives a wrong answer. "We've cataloged all the students' misconceptions, all the questions that have been asked," Mr. Meisner says. "That means that the computer is the answerer instead of the live person." That also means that the real professor will have to field fewer questions from students. As many professors who teach at a distance know, students can ask hundreds of questions by e-mail every week, taking up much of the professor's time. But Mr. Meisner still is not sure whether the computer will understand a student who can't put a question into words. "I've heard all of the questions, and I can immediately judge the nuances that are in the student's voice," he says. "I can see what the student really meant instead of listening to what they actually said." Also accompanying the distance student in the virtual lab will be virtual lab partners -- phantom students who will help the distance student with the lab work. But the student will not know whether the lab partners are giving good or bad advice, just as in a real laboratory experience. As the students, real and faux, discuss what to do, the computer program will play the role of the tutor and ask what the distance student thinks of the lab partner's suggestions. How a student answers will be another indication of whether the student understands the lab work. The U.S. Department of Education is financing the creation of the Learn Anytime Anywhere Physics lab with a five-year, $1.8-million grant. The virtual lab is still under development. A trial version will be available in the spring. Several institutions have indicated that they would be interested in helping Mr. Meisner test the lab, he says. After the final version comes out, most likely in the fall of 2004, he expects more institutions to use it for distance education or as a supplement to an on-site physics course. While the virtual lab seems inherently safer than a traditional lab, students will not initially be able to use computer renditions of dangerous equipment, like radioactive material. "Letting a student loose in a lab would demonstrate the theory of chaos, where the student would mix things up and become so confused that they would give up," Mr. Meisner says. The computer animation and the experiments can be fun, he says. But he wants to make sure the virtual lab remains a serious learning environment. "We want to walk a fine line between making things interesting and fun, if we want to use that word, but not make the learning experience a game." He adds: "We don't want to make it dead boring either." But Harol Hoffman, who is co-principal investigator on the project and is also Mr. Meisner's wife, says one of the virtual lab's most compelling aspects is that it can be so much fun. People who have used the parts of the lab that already work enjoyed have playing around with the equipment, like racing the animated remote-controlled cars. "It's very cool," says Ms. Hoffman, an adjunct professor of anthropology at Greensboro. "There's a certain game quality to it." Background articles from The Chronicle: Online-Lab Software Simulates Chemical Interactions -- and Explosions (12/10/2002) Baking Soda, Vinegar, and Measuring Cups Become Lab Materials for Online Chemistry Course (11/12/2002) Virtual Reality on a Desktop Hailed as New Tool in Distance Education (10/6/2000) Science Instructors Ask: Can You Teach Students at a Distance How to Use Microscopes? (4/14/2000) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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