Online experiments in physics and technology teaching

Computers equipped with measurement and control interfaces have become an accepted and necessary part of science and technology school laboratories. In Slovenian secondary and undergraduate education, computer-based instrumentation and software has been developed and introduced in physics and technology teaching. In this paper, online experiments specifically developed for different school programs are reviewed. Typical examples of such experiments are briefly described and illustrated with results captured from computer screens. The present status of computer-based and classical laboratory teaching in secondary education were compared in a survey of first-year students at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The efficiency of the use of online experiments in schools depends on the qualifications of the teachers involved. Accordingly, courses for the training of future physics and technology teachers are outlined in which the trainee teachers are introduced to online experiments through project work. An example of one such project, involving the characteristics of optical electronic components, is presented. The contribution concludes with a discussion of specific features of the introduction of computerized experiments and some aims for their future evolution.