Physics laboratory work out from the laboratory – Mobile phones can be used for practical work

Practical work is an important part of physics and natural sciences studies in universities around the world. As COVID-19 has shut down university campuses, new solutions have had to be found for this – usually in a hurry. In a new international project coordinated by the Department of Physics at the Ģֱ takes practical work outside the university and closer to students’ everyday life.
Fysiikan kokeellisissa töissä mittauksia voidaan tehdä hyödyntämällä kännykän sensoreita. Kuva: Jyväskylän yliopisto/Antti Lehtinen
Published
4.2.2021

Making sure that studies progress on time and have high quality is important also in these exceptional times. The Department of Physics at the Ģֱ has invested into developing its teaching and the goal of the department is to be the best place to study physics in Finland.

In a new project coordinated by the Department of Physics at the Ģֱ ”DigiPhysLab: Developing Digital Physics Laboratory Work for Distance Learning” European universities work together to find new ways for students to practice practical work through distance learning in everyday situations.

“In the project we will design and test 15 practical work tasks that can be done using different digital tools to be used as a part of basic and advanced studies of physics. We will also build a framework for others to design their own practical work tasks for distance learning”, says the project’s coordinator, senior lecturer Antti Lehtinen from the Ģֱ.

The DigiPhysLab –project just got two year funding from the Erasmus+ -program. The other project partners are the University of Göttingen from Germany and the University of Zagreb from Croatia.

Mobile phones can be used for practical work

Students can collect data for their practical works e.g. using the different sensors contained in their mobile phones.

”For example, the barometer included in many mobile phones can be used to determine the velocity of a moving elevator. Different simulations can also be for data collection", tells Antti Lehtinen.

This sort of practical works has also its place in the curriculum after COVID-19: according to some studies, the use of mobile phones for practical work can increase students’ interest for the topic at hand. At the same time, distance learning increases the flexibility of university studies.

“The practical work tasks designed in the project and the framework will be available for everyone freely on four different languages. Some of the tasks can also be used at the upper secondary school level. One of our goal is that physics teacher students would get a taste of this fresh take on practical work and would then implement this sort of practical work into their own teaching in the future” describes Antti Lehtinen.

For further information:
Senior Lecturer Antti Lehtinen, antti.t.lehtinen@jyu.fi, tel. +358 40 805 4826

The Faculty of Mathematics and Science
Communications Specialist Tanja Heikkinen, tanja.s.heikkinen@jyu.fi, +358 50 472 1162
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