PhysicaElementa
Editor's note: Paula and Michelle wrote an evaluation of The World of Physics for the Way Cool Project which was published here in April of 1998 (incidently, a great review I thought). After that the company informed them that The World of Physics was only one module of a bigger package called PhysicaElementa. Below is their review of the entire package including The World of Physics. It's long, but it's quite a large package. I'll drop The World of Physics from the web site soon. CR
Reviewers: Paula Setters and Michelle Gajdik LaRue County High School
psetters@larue.k12.ky.us
mgajdik@larue.k12.ky.us
Mrs. Setters teaches Physics (Intro. And AP) and Introduction to Chemistry &
Physics
Mrs. Gajdik is a teacher of Special Education.
PhysicaElementa
Intellectum Plus, Inc
http://www.intellectum.ca
Available on CD-ROM only for PCs, but publisher insists that all their products
run smoothly on a MacIntosh by using a SoftWindows 95 emulator.
In English now with French and Arabic versions planned for summer 1999. (Interested
parties may contact Mr. Ioan Trif for information about Authoring Tools to help
translate the Knowledge Base to other languages.)
Price varies according to module (see specific modules below)
Evaluated on a PC during the Fall of 1998.
Rating: 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, Way Cool.
This software program consists of several modules, each of which is listed below with comments specific to the module. One of the best features of the program is that once the user learns to navigate through one module, he or she knows how to navigate through all the modules. We had previously reviewed the World of Physics CD-ROM for the Way Cool site and found the other CDs to have the same general format. Users are provided with a glossary, both an abstract and a real depiction of the problem set up (the user decides which one to view), an animated self-running tutorial with sound, examples of life applications, utilities such as a calculator and notepad, and a method of choosing which part if the module and which problem will be displayed. Users are given the choice of letting the computer choose the problem or choosing the problem themselves. Each module consists of several problem statements accompanied by questions dealing with the statement. Some of the questions require the user to read the original statement carefully to determine an answer. Some questions require the user to determine the answer by referring to a diagram. Other questions require the user to have some knowledge beyond what is given in the problem statement. The latter type of question is the most difficult to answer, but hints and tutorials are available to help the user.
When the computer is allowed to select the problem, the user is always presented with the main problem for a particular concept. If the user correctly answers all the questions for this problem, the computer will present him/her with the main problem from the next concept or level. If the user does not correctly answer the questions for the main problem, the computer will present a problem from the same concept or level or even from a lower level. There is a pictorial representation of this sequence of movement through the problems, called the Knowledge Entity Tree, as well as a list of the problems. Visual learners may prefer using the Knowledge Entity Tree, while the linguistic and mathematical/logical learner may prefer using the list.
In addition to the features that are included to help the user progress through the questions, there is a problem summary available when the problem is completed. This summary provides a list of the steps used in reasoning to arrive at the answer to the problem. The summary can be printed and used as a study guide. Also available are information about the minimum math and formulas needed to complete the work.
The program documentation provided included both a Teacher Utilities Guide and a Student Guide. The Student Guide is also provided from the Help menu in the program itself. Both guides are very readable and provide much information that should be read before using the program for the first time. (The Teacher Utilities allow the teacher to track the progress of individual students through the modules.)
Mrs. Gajdik feels that upper level special education students with high vocabularies who are taking Physics could successfully utilize these programs. Immediate feedback to the user is seen as a plus in the program. The positive reinforcement in the form of balloons and verbal praise is excellent for every student. The animations should be helpful for the visual and audio learners.
One possible drawback for some students who have trouble with too much visual stimulation is the number of separate window open on the screen at the same time. This could be controlled somewhat by taping sheets of paper over the screen to cover some of the windows so the student could view one at a time.
The vocabulary component might also cause problems for some special education students. Some of the definitions given use terms that need to be defined and/or are too involved for those with poor reading skills.
$199 for the school version; (sold in units of 1, 5, 10, 20 & 30)
There are actually four modules on this CD-ROM. Each module may be purchased separately at a cost of $79 each. The problems for these modules would be appropriate for introductory level physical science classes as well as regular physics classes.
Measurement & Units presents measurements of length, surface and volume, mass, and time.
Physical Quantities includes units of time, length, surface, volume, mass, and density. This module also includes questions dealing with dimensional analysis.
States of Matter includes problems dealing with the three states of matter as well as with phase changes.
Physical Phenomena presents problems dealing with phenomena listed as mechanic, thermic, electric, magnetic and optic.
$199 for the school version; (sold in units of 1, 5, 10, 20 & 30)
There are actually four modules on this CD-ROM. Each module may be purchased separately at a cost of $79 each
Rest & Motion includes a very good explanation of the coordinate system used for graphing. There is a variety of problems dealing with both mathematical and conceptual analysis of different motions. The concepts included are rest, distance, motion, displacement, and frames or reference. This module could be used at both the introductory physical science level and regular physics.
Force deals with the concepts of force, elastic deformation, plastic deformation, weight and the force of friction. These problems may be too advanced for use at the introductory physical science level.
Force Addition & Subtraction does a good job of working with vector addition. It presents the concepts of resultant, resolution of a force, the negative of a force, use of the parallelogram method, and forces on an object on an inclined plane. This module could be used for both the introductory level physical sciences and regular physics.
Velocity & Acceleration moves the student through problems dealing with speed, average speed, average velocity, relative velocity, acceleration and deceleration. This module could be used for both the introductory level physical sciences and regular physics.
$79 for the school version; (sold in units of 1, 5, 10, 20 & 30) This is a single module CD-ROM and is mainly appropriate for physics courses rather than introductory level physical science courses, although some parts would be useful in an introductory course. The concepts presented include gravitational mass, inertial mass, free fall parameters, free fall motion, and the air resistance force.
$79 for the school version; (sold in units of 1, 5, 10, 20 & 30) This is another single module CD-ROM and is definitely aimed at physics classes rather than introductory physical sciences. It deals with the force due to friction, the coefficient of static friction, the coefficient of kinetic friction, inclined planes, and rolling friction.
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