Hello, My name is Julia Stanley. I am teaching Physics 1011: Physics for Future Leaders. I have a PhD in Physics and specialized in Medical Physics. Here are some of my thoughts on an effective online practice that I experienced!

 

When I was an undergraduate, we had online lab tutorials for chemistry. We would run simulations of the labs that we were going to do before we did them in class. I really enjoyed these simulations because I could play around with different variables and instantly see the effect. This was different from completing the lab in class because I could take my time with the simulations and wasn’t under any pressure to complete them correctly the first time so I felt free to experiment and try different things.

 

Why was this an effective practice for you?

This was an effective practice for me because the online simulations were performed in a very low pressure environment which allowed me to learn for the sake of learning as opposed to worrying about my grades or performance.

 

What are some of the key ingredients that underlie the experience you had?

Some of the key ingredients were that the simulations were directly related to the lab we were going to perform. This allowed for learning through repetition. They were also performed in an online environment, which allowed me to complete them at my own pace. The labs were also very interactive and seemed more like games than assignments.

 

If you could do it over again, what would you change to improve your experience?

I think that more of the labs could have had online simulations. They improved my experience for the in-class lab because I felt ready and prepared for the tasks.