Free Web resources for teaching physics

Profesor Kyle Forinash, PhD, Indiana University Southeast.  June 2011.

If you have other interesting links email: kforinas @ ius.edu                 

My talk on using the web for teaching.

On-line Textbooks:

• Hyper Physics: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
• Jeff Schnick's calculus based physics: http://www.anselm.edu/internet/physics/cbphysics/
• Motion Mountain: http://www.motionmountain.net/
• Light and Matter: http://www.lightandmatter.com/
• Discover Physics: http://www.lightandmatter.com/area1dp.html
• Physics Hypertextbook: http://physics.info/
• Spiral Physics: http://web.monroecc.edu/spiral/
• Free Book Centre: http://www.freebookcentre.net/
• Stargazers to Starships: http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Sintro.htm
• Internet Acrhive of free texts. Search for 'Physics'.

Collections of Simulations:

• PhET; PhET en español.
  • Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Phet page of articles.
  • Example. How good are these for learning? 1
• ComPADRE: The biggest collection of software and lesson plans on-line.
• Open Source Physics. A library of open source programs.

Bibliography of other simulations and articles.

Tools for creating your own simulations:

• EJS. Easy Java Simulations by Esquembre.
  • Articles: 1.
  • Example: 1, 2.
• Fislets: Applets which can be scripted to do different things.
  • Example. Keep in mind the first four simulations use the same applet, just scripted differently.
  • Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4.
  • Examples: 1, 2.
  • Physlet Builder.
  • Physlet scriptor.

Video ideas:

• Tracker; does video analysis of motion.
• LivePhoto Physics; collection of physics video for analysis.
• PodCast. You can make your own for distribution.
  • Example: Forinash, 1.
  • Article: 1.
• YouTube.edu; do a search for 'physics'. You can also put your own up there.
  • Example (Brownian Motion).
  • Article: 1.
  • Other pages with video links (not comprehensive): 1, 2.
• Qik: Share video from your phone; example.
• Screen capture: (Screen Toaster); example.
• Free software for handeling video: 1, 2.

Make your own Blogs and Wikis:

• Google:
  • Wiki/Web: example.
  • Blog: example.
  • Interesting graphing tool: Gapminder.
• Other blogs, free: http://blog.com/ ; example.
• Other Wikis, free: http://www.wikispaces.com/ ; example.
• Yahoo group example: http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/fisicaenweb.

Other resources:

• VPython; a free 3-D software package.
• Gimp; something like Photoshop but free.
• Amaya; html editor that has math symbols (not great but free).
• OpenOffice.
• Wolfram Alpha.

Other ideas:

• Physics using a cell phone; Article.
• Remote laboratories:
  • Article: Forinash, 1.
  • Hardware for controlling remote equipment: ioBridge.
• Voki (for fun).