Physics teaching with simulations in HTML5

Abstract

One of the functions of the Center of Distance Education of the School of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires is the design of educational materials using various technologies, so as to facilitate the teaching and learning of science. In this context, a proposal of basic physics simulations design is presented. Previously, simulations were developed in other languages such as Java and Flash. The objective of the initial search was oriented to find open source simulations that can be easily customized or authoring tools such as GeoGebra or EJS. It is intended to avoid implementations from scratch since it is time consuming and difficult to implement in the short term. In particular, a process of development of simulations with HTML5 was started. The reason leading the change was the need to have educational materials that could be used from any terminal, particularly from mobile terminals so that students can make use of the simulator anytime and anywhere. An example of a simulation of a pendulum is provided which main objective is that the student could manipulate variables, observe the behavior of the pendulum and make inferences that help them understand and apply the physical model under study.