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Re: open-source labs and homework



Please excuse this cross-posting to discussion lists with archives at:

Phys-L <http://mailgate.nau.edu/archives/phys-l.html>,
PhysLrnR <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html>,
Physhare <http://lists.psu.edu/archives/physhare.html>.
Open Physics Education <http://www.topica.com/lists/openphys>/"Read This List"
AP Physics discussion list
<http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/listserv/tech.html>
(no easily searchable archives)

In reference #6 of my Wed. 25 Apr 2001 12:42:16-0700 post CID
(Conceptual, Inquiry, Discovery) vs. QPS (Quantitative Problem
Solving)to Phys-L, PhysLrnR, Physhare, and the AP Physics discussion
list, I wrote (with references renumbered in accord with the
reference list below) :

"In this connection . . .(top down vs bottom up curriculum reform). .
. . . . . Furnstahl et al.(1) propose a curriculum development and
reform model based on the "bazaar approach" to computer software
development described in ref. 2. In the case of physics education,
individual teachers or departments would be the counterparts of the
community code experts (hackers) who contribute to software
development. Would it be possible to construct a viable Curriculum S
using the "bazaar approach" ??"

Previously, in my 2/18/01 post "open-source labs and homework" to
Phys-L, Physhare, and PhysLrnR, I had written:

"Thus far physics-education-research (PER) based materials(3) have
had only minor influence on mainstream physics teaching. The
availability of more "open-source" PER materials that are easily
tailored to local circumstances might increase their use and
contribute to their improvement through feedback from users."

On 2/18/01, Bryan <VoyagerBSH@aol.com> responded to the above in a
2/18/01 Physhare post "Re: open-source labs and homework" by asking
some good questions:

". . . how does such an open source model work? . . . . do any of the
references you listed in your post have a discussion of the many pros
and cons of doing this? A few issues that quickly come to mind . . .
How does the physics in the resources remain accurate in open-source?
Is there a moderator, and if so how are they (sic) compensated for
their efforts in such a model? . . . Will this really result in more
innovation, or might it stifle innovation and the development of good
resources? . . . Is the open source model being proposed as perhaps
a better, more accountable, way of producing educational resources
with government funding?. . . . .How would a moderator, or group of
teachers, assess if the materials being placed in the open source are
really useful and being used?"

For a discussion of these and other questions regarding open-source
physics educational materials see refs. 1-6.


Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>

REFERENCES
1. R.J. Furnstahl & S. Rosenberg, "The Bazaar Approach to Physics
Education," AAPT Announcer 30(4), 120 (2000); on the web at
<http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~ntg/aapt/>.

2. Eric S. Raymond, "The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux
and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary" (O'Reilly &
Associates (1999); continually updated in the open source spirit at
<http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/>.

3. For a listing of curriculum materials based on physics education
research see <http://www.physics.umd.edu/perg/ecs/matper.htm>. For a
list of commercially published [i.e., Cathedral-type (ref. 2)]
research-based instructional materials see pages 766-767 of L.C.
McDermott & E.R. Redish, "RL- PER1: Resource Letter on Physics
Education Research," Am. J. Phys. 67(9), 755-767 (1999); online at
<http://www.physics.umd.edu/rgroups/ripe/perg/cpt.html>.

4. Ben Crowell, Phys-L posts of 2/18/01 and 2/19/01 on "open-source
labs and homework, available at
<http://mailgate.nau.edu/archives/phys-l.html>: type "open source"
into the subject slot to obtain 2 hits; see also Crowell's listing of
open-source physics-education materials on the web at "Some Free
Physics Materials" <http://www.lightandmatter.com/openphys/>.

5. PhysLrnR posts of 2/18/01 to 2/21/01 by Hake, Wittman, Crowell,
Clement, Johnson, Earnshaw, and Camp available at the archives
<http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html>: type "open
source" into the subject slot to obtain 8 hits. PhysLrnR is one of
the few discussion groups which allows access to the archives only to
subscribers. But subscribing and then unsubscribing requires only a
few minutes following the simple instructions obtained by clicking on
"Join or leave the list. . ." at the above URL.

6. Open Physics Education posts of 2/19/01 to 3/26/01 by Crowell,
McNeil, Jones, Hake, and Wittman.