The standing vertical jump (SVJ) is a classical topic in Newtonian mechanics (Fig. 1). Although the topic has also been treated by others (other terms used are "standing high jump" or "squat jump"), the present paper shows how a smartphone can be used to capture video of a jump and determine the jump height. A crucial…

Water rockets can be used in a variety of ways, from schools to planetariums, with very young kids or adults. We propose here simple forms to work with water rockets, going one step further than a simple launch. A smartphone can be used to film the launch and analyze its motion with video analysis or it can even be attached to the rocket, using…

In this column, I discuss a soundscape composition activity that I implemented with primary/elementary music classes. During this activity, students used the iPad app, iMovie, to record, organize and edit sound to accompany photos of artworks that they had created. Overall, I found iMovie to be a useful app for music composition with general music…

This article explores an inventive approach to teaching physiology that blends the use of the Notability app on the iPad with video-based learning to visually explain intricate physiological concepts in real time. The core idea is to offer students a more dynamic and interactive way to comprehend complex physiological concepts during review…

Ransdell and Rieck (2020) found that distance learning was a physical and mental challenge in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study compares Zoom, Canvas, and smartphone use from 2020 to 2023, when the COVID-19 pandemic has receded. For many students, phones are used more and larger devices less. Students who realize that…

How does the education sector recover following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic? Much enthusiasm exists to imagine how teaching practices can be enriched within the so-called 'new normal.' The physical and mental health benefits associated with school physical education have attracted considerable attention during the pandemic.…

Digital and information literacy skills are necessary to succeed in today's knowledge economy but for the millions of people in the world without internet access, a frustratingCatch-22 exists: How can they develop digital literacy skills without internet access? When they get access, what good is the internet to them if they don't have the skills…

Limited literacy has a large impact on the U.S. population; about half of adults lack sufficient literacy proficiency. However, not all populations are impacted equally, as there is a significant comorbidity between low literacy and mental illness. The authors have found that smartphones can offer mental health patients with low literacy numerous…

The Pavia University History Museum, which houses historic items mainly connected to the physics and medicine fields, has focused in the past years on new ways to involve its public and to attract new audiences. Among different approaches, digital technologies have proven important to both external and internal communication. Lately, an Augmented…

Video motion analysis allows tracing trajectories of objects in motion and is an established method in physics education. Tablet computers, with their integrated cameras, offer the opportunity to both record and analyze dynamic motions during experiments on a single device. This enables students to work without transitioning the data between…

The drag effect on a falling ball caused by air is a conventional subject in the most well-known textbooks of classical mechanics and fluid dynamics. Further, there are some papers that employ video analysis to track objects movements in the air making it possible to obtain position data as a function of time and its graphs. However, none of them…

Your body is not a point particle. The nature and direction of the forces counteracting gravity influence your experience of uniform rectilinear motion--as does your own orientation in relation to the force of gravity. Sensors in smartphones or other devices can capture these forces, and help establish a connection between the personal experience…

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, academic institutions across the globe have been forced to move to online learning environments. It has been particularly challenging for the experimental sciences to develop and deliver authentic lab-based experiences. Some of the strategies that have been adopted for first-year physics labs include: providing a…

It is not enough to simply post text in social media messages. Tweets with images garner three times more engagement, such as through likes, retweets, follows, clicks, and comments. Social media messages without accompanying visuals are a missed opportunity. This article describes 10 simple tools and accompanying techniques for creating attractive…

Pearson's Learning Foundations describe the optimal conditions for learning and reflect the learner experience Pearson hopes their products will create. Pearson does this by incorporating the Learning Design Principles. Each of the Learning Design Principles goes into detail about a key principle, supporting product design and marketing by…