Simulations as a new physics teaching tool

In the past 15 years, physics education research has shed light on the difficulties students encounter in learning physics. In response, a wide variety of new models of physics instruction have become available. In the last 4 years, we developed a physics remedial course to decrease the dropout rate of university students while promoting more efficient learning of the principles and laws of physics. To motivate students to do research on physical phenomena we focused our attention on simulations to help students learn different subjects concerning physics word. This article presents examples of simulations generated by the authors using Modellus software for interactive learning of simple harmonic motion. In addition, videotapes, tests and other didactic material are available for students in a virtual environment. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 18: 757-761, 2010: View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com; DOI 10.1002/cae.20266