Harnessing the Digital Science Education Revolution

Abstract

Students regularly struggle with visualization and modeling of physical phenomena. Incorporating smartphones into teaching strategies has the potential to improve learning outcomes while simultaneously augmenting students' digital literacy skills in an applied context. This chapter discusses two smartphone applications developed by the authors and the accompanying research efforts in understanding how students might learn with this technology. The first app pairs augmented reality (AR) with smartphone magnetometers to visualize three-dimensional magnetic fields in space. The second uses light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology available on modern iPhone models to plot position-time and velocity-time graphs based on users' motions. Each was developed with the support of students, teachers, software developers, and educational psychologists. In this chapter, the authors share their perspectives and other recommendations for the use and development of similar technologies to improve learning.