Teaching geometrical optics by means of geogebra software

The use of digital tools in physics education increases the students' digital competencies, their motivation and highly contributes to develop cognitive learning processes during their interaction with software simulations. In this paper, we present how to employ GeoGebra software for teaching geometrical optics phenomena. The proposed approach started with the study of spherical diopter, since optical systems, such as mirrors and lenses, are set of surfaces that reflect or refract light rays and the mathematical relations that describe these systems are obtained from the diopter formulas. Another system that combines light reflection and refraction, for which we created a dynamical model, is the optical prism. Dynamic simulations for these systems offer the possibility to examine, by geometrical tools, the involved physics laws. Moreover, one can identify various attributes or properties that are changing and their effects, leading to processes of reflection and to knowledge construction. We also explored the possibility to take the advantage of GeoGebra software in solving problems, by creating an attractive environment that promotes better comprehension of the concepts and of the involved optical phenomena. The use of images, instead of the commonly employed symbolic representations, can greatly support students having a lower capacity for abstraction and facilitates their understanding of physics problems.