Presents results of a survey on physics teachers' opinions of microcomputers and microprocessor-based teaching aids they have used, including what features were considered most important and advantages/disadvantages of and personal comments about each device. Includes a glossary of terms used in the report. (JN)

Summarizes the twelfth AAPT Apparatus Competition held in New York in January 1981. Lists and briefly describes apparatus of individual award winners. (SK)

Trends in science teaching equipment include digital instrumentation and use of microcomputers as general purpose laboratory instruments. Describes interface units which exploit this capability of the microcomputer. Also describes materials supporting the teaching of electronics. (JN)

Describes an undergraduate laboratory experiment in which a moving coil galvanometer is studied and the electromotive force generated by the swinging coil provides the impulse response information in a form suitable for digitizing and inputing to a microcomputer. Background information and analysis of typical data are included. (JN)

Describes the Interactive Microcomputer Peripheral (including major features, source, and current cost) and physics experiments using the instrument. The instrument can also be used for such purposes as counting, timing, and frequency measurement as well as for experiments in biology and experimental psychology. (JN)

Educational robots are defined, their essential characteristics and features are outlined, and their educational applications and what makes them run are discussed. Classroom experiences with five educational robots--Topo, Rhino XR-2, RB5X, Hero I and Tasman Turtle--are described. (MBR)

Microcomputer-based instrumentation packages enable computers to collect continuous analog data, convert data to digital form for processing, and display results on monitor. Discusses classroom advantages of these packages, describes one package for teaching harmonic motion, and provides a list of currently available packages (including vendor and…

Describes an interface designed to meet the requirements of an instrumentation teaching laboratory, particularly to develop computer-controlled digital circuitry while exploiting electrical drive properties of common transistor-transistor logic (TTL) devices, minimizing cost/number of components. Discusses decoding for Pet, switches, lights, and…