While computer use has revolutionized our lives and physics research, the extent of a "Computer Revolution" in physics education is much less clear. One may ask if computers have really made a difference to physics education over and above convenient administration and dissemination and testing of information. None of the latter is trivial, but it is somewhat obvious and common to all disciplines.

- can computer use make a substantial difference in presentation of concepts?

- do younger faculty use more computer based examples?

- should and can computers replace hands on demonstrations and experiments? - what can realistically be accomplished?

All physicist have opinions on these issues and during my talk I will describe some approaches of others and present examples from areas such as modern/quantum physics and condensed matter where computational tools can greatly benefit student comprehension.

Thursday February 20, 2014

Listeners are welcome to bring smartphones or tablets, (resisting the temptation to email or check the news) so they can experience some interactive websites in the last part of the talk.