Re: Computers in the lab.

[Joel Rauber <Joel_Rauber@SDSTATE.EDU>]

I decided to stay out of this this time.  (hardly!, but I'll minimize, with
two comments)

1)  I'm most saddened by the post below (I don't know who wrote it, as it
was unsigned).  Why? It was an appeal to expert testimony, where none
should
be required.  I don't know how many years of teaching experience the person
below has had; but I've heard similar requests from quite experienced
teachers.  I'm saddened because they apparently have supervisors for whom
the experienced teachers common sense isn't enough! And it ought to be.

2) Simulated laboratories.  I'm against them!  (with some proviso's, e.g.
my
747 pilot first learning on a simulator; but I want them to have flown a
real plane as well, before flying me.)  (BTW, I'm not against students
writing their own simulation programs, as long as it isn't too canned, i.e.
something more than stringing together pre-written subroutines, I make some
exception for IP in certain situations).

The reason is philosophical.  Introductory physics is a course about a
natural science, which is predicated on experiments with the *real* world.
That point is so important, that the use of simulated laboratories totally
denigrates the idea.

 Please don't view the above as saying that simulation has no place in
learning, even for introductory physics; I believe it does, but not as a
replacement for real world laboratories.



> I am certainly not adverse to having computers in the physics
> lab. I also
> agree that pratical educational labs will have to include some type of
> "black box."
>
> So maybe I should ask: What rules of thumb can be applied.
> What general
> tasks are appropriate for computers to do?
>
> In my opinion, the computer should be used for what it has
> always been best
> at: performing repeated, mundane, predictable tasks (number crunching,
> spell
> checking, graphing large amounts of data).
>
> What would really help me (and many of us?) is some simple
> guidelines from
> respected researchers; guidelines I can present to my supervisors in
> support
> of a restrained, thoughtful analysis of how the
> computer-based techniques
> should be applied to the lab.
Joel Rauber
Joel_Rauber@sdstate.edu