CC BY
29PHYSICAL SCIENCES
THE USE OF ANDROID APPS FOR BETTER LEARNING AND THE BEST MOTIVATION IN
STUDYING
Kobus O.,
Candidate in physics-mathematical science, Senior lecturer Educational and Scientific Institute Of Information Security of National Academy of the Security Service of
Ukraine, Kyiv Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3130-6515 Kononova D.,
PhD (in Linguistics), Associate professor National Academy of the Security Service of Ukraine, Kyiv
Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3804-2356
Zaiets P.
Senior lecturer
Educational and Scientific Institute Of Information Security of National Academy of the Security Service of
Ukraine, Kyiv Ukraine
Abstract.
In the article the possible options that can increase the success rate while performing the work that students are offered to do by themselves, especially when they study independently, are discussed. Nowadays the young people hang up on smartphones, so the use of their digital learning resources for didactic and software support for homework and home tasks is necessary.
Keywords: smartphones; independent study; Google Drive; PlayMarket; Android apps.
Introduction. The main purpose of professional training of students is the need to provide them with basic knowledge, which will help them to absorb the necessary material and in the future to acquire the necessary knowledge independently. Nowadays, the modern teacher is able to use the whole arsenal of methods and forms providing a baseline profile of the knowledge to students. Today information and communication technologies, various Web-resources, virtual laboratories are widely used.
However, while the class is under control and everything is controlled by the teacher, these techniques saturate the material with video, great presentations, virtual elements, and when the individual or group tasks are checked, the first problems appear during the independent study of material. There is a lack of logical linking in the presentation of the material which leads to not being able to do the tasks independently. The reasons for such problems to occur are various, and you are often confronted with the explanation that it is impossible to process the material using computer technology at home.
It should be understood that in such a situation the student lacks such an important action as motivation, we are not talking about the one created by the teacher herself/himself, but the personal motivation of the student to work out the material. By definition, motivation is a psychophysiological process that under the influence of external or internal factors stimulates people's desire to engage in one or another activity [3]. It is motivation that causes the people to act and achieve the set goals.
Today, children and young people are living and moving in the information space, and their pace is
growing rapidly. Each time the contingent of people becomes younger, so we also have to evolve, otherwise it will lead to misunderstanding each other and we will lose their interest. Smartphones and tablets completely embrace our lives.
So, considering that the smartphone and the tablet are a "necessary attribute" of each student, the idea of using the software content of devices based on Android OS in the educational process was adopted, especially during the studying such disciplines as physics and mathematics. When you say that discipline is based on a more detailed examination of physical processes and phenomena, there is a fear in the eyes and "inhibition" to learning in the majority of students.
There are also cases, such as being a student on an individual study schedule, illness of student, independent studying student, part-time student, student at sports competitions, when the need for temporary distance learning using certain techniques and smartphones can not only save the situation, but also increase interest in the subject. Nowadays, smartphones are a great help in the learning process: lecturing, scheduling, reading ebooks, communicating with teachers and classmates via email, as well as through voice and video conferencing, knowledge control [2].
Some of the benefits of using mobile learning identified by UNESCO staff [1]:
Empowerment and equal access to education.
Mobile phone prices are constantly falling, so an increasing number of people, even in the poorest regions, have the opportunity to purchase such devices and know how to use them. At present, there are many mobile projects in different countries that provide modern
educational materials through mobile communication for all.
• Training personalization. Mobile devices are usually the property of their owners, are in their possession throughout the day, and have many features to tune in. That's why mobile technology provides greater opportunities for personalization over fixed technology.
• Instant feedback and evaluation of training results. Mobile technology accelerates learning performance and enables students and teachers to track progress faster.
• Training anytime, anywhere. Since most of the time the mobile device is with its owner, it is possible to conduct training at anytime and anywhere, which previously could not be dreamed of. Mobile learning applications give the user a choice: they can perform an exercise that requires a few minutes, or fully concentrate on the task within a few hours. Thanks to this flexibility for training, you can use a long break between classes or a short bus trip.
• Support for situational learning. Compared to the traditional classroom learning process, mobile devices move a child into an environment that makes it as easy as possible to understand the subject through a variety of subject-based mobile applications. For example, mobile applications are guides around the city, telling about the most important architectural objects, their composition, design and significance; Mobile applications that provide information about plants as they become familiar with them in a natural habitat, etc.
• Continuous learning development. With cloud-based storage, you can increase learning efficiency. Educational resources and information can be stored in cloud storage rather than on a computer's hard drive, so students can work with the same material from different mobile devices. Modern cloudy technologies allow data to be synchronized across multiple devices, so students can resume from where it was suspended on another device, and vice versa.
• Link formal and informal learning. Mobile devices erase the boundaries between formal and informal learning, contributing to new knowledge. With mobile devices, students easily find additional materials to better understand the educational material that has been told in the classroom or audience. For example, there are a huge number of language learning applications that "speak" to students and "listen" to them through built-in speakers and a microphone. Previously, a teacher was needed for this, and now there is enough mobile device and mobile application installed on it.
Main part. In the course of teaching the disciplines in physics and mathematics and using different techniques, a certain scheme was developed.
So for the layout of the materials Google Drive was the most convenient and functional one, as it has many applications, which makes the learning process more saturated. If you want to watch the video, then it's a YouTube embedded application. If you need to make a report, calculate something, to schedule, or perform a presentation - then Google Office Apps will be your best assistance. If you can't understand the language of the document then use the built-in translator.
The most relevant feature of Google Drive is the built-in PlayMarket. It has already been proved that physical and mathematical disciplines are better acquired through visual methods, and where it is still possible to carry out experimental research, such knowledge is extremely effective. It is possible to set up synchronization between your computer and smartphone that will help you to use PlayMarket apps on both devices, which is convenient for reports. It contains many free programs, but there are some that are also available on a paid basis. After selecting a free application, simply click on "Download" and it will install automatically.
There are a lot of applications related to physical and mathematical disciplines in GooglePlay, but every educator needs to find the content that will be convenient and effective exactly in his/her teaching methodology.
In our choice we try to pay less attention to the reference apps for Android devices and Calculator app on Android because they do all the work instead of the student, thus not stimulating them to creativity and development of logical thinking. Much attention is paid to the applications which take into accounts the experimental direction for the visualization and making the material more saturated, and to enable students to show their initiatives.
Usually in the classroom mode, we use programs such as NI Multisim, Micro-Cap, Statistica, Mathcad for our disciplines. We also use virtual lab sites and obligatory add interesting videos that contain researches or apps where we implement certain laws and phenomena, and create video presentations. Practical tasks are done in computer classes and computer-based reporting is increasingly being transformed into office design applications and cloud-based transfer.
But being a part of independent and distance learning, the work in these software environments was not available to all that is why we had to search for applications for Android devices. So great helpers have become some applications in which both teachers and students are happy to work. For us, it was a little bit of a new format for working with new software applications. Many Android apps have been explored during the course of the work, and those that have been subdued for their simplicity, convenience and widespread use have emerged. We present a brief description of these applications.
MATLAB Mobile is an Android application that allows you to design algorithms, create 2D and 3D graphs of data visualization, analyze data and numerical calculations. MATLAB is also used in a wide variety of other applications, including signal processing, such as signal imaging, communication, design, testing, and measurement of signals and so on. You can also show students financial modeling and analysis for an additional task. The specific ability is the possibility to cloud-store and synchronize data with MATLAB Drive.
In the AnalyStat application environment you can perform a variety of statistical surveys, build graphs and charts. The program allows you to save your data
set and synchronize it with GoogleSheets, Microsoft Excel, etc.
ElectricCircuitStudio and QuickCopper are great substitutes for NI Multisim and Micro-Cap. They contain sufficient sets of elements for assembling and examining electrical circuits, performing SPICE simulations and calculating schematics using formulas; they also have built-in calculators that can be used to compare experimental and theoretical data. The available tools are supplemented by information content that explains the basic electrical theorems, laws, and schemes. The filling of the programs is very similar, so there is no need for the teacher to develop different instructions for laboratory work and the student can freely choose which environment is comfortable to work.
VoltLab is an application that contains both training mode and circuit mode. The teaching mode can be used by students as supplementary material to the teacher's explanations. The training is fun with 3D animations and a step-by-step explanation of each step for any process. Scheme mode allows you to explore 3D linear and nonlinear electric circuits, change their parameters, plot dependencies of the studied quantities and check the basic laws of electricity.
OpticsandPhotonics 2019 is a hands-on toolkit for students when considering topics in geometric optics. Students with this application can visually check the geometric laws of refraction and reflection, explore such optical devices as lenses, mirrors, prisms. It is also possible to visualize tasks and get calculations using focal length, optical zoom, and more. The phenomena such as refraction and paraxial ray tracing are briefly mentioned. In addition, there are tests, through which you can see the level of understanding of the material by each student. There is a sandbox environment in which students can conduct their own experiments, which is of great interest to them, especially if it is designed taking into account the spirit of competition.
As an additional material, students can use the MOA Calculator (EasyRiflesCalibration) application to show how fast and easy the calibration of a standard rifle optimeter collimator can be calibrated. Optical sight, it is interesting to investigate, adjusting it under the shooter with defects of vision (myopia or hypero-pia), the parameters thus change. After the shot, the distance between the center of the target and the opening from the bullet is measured. The app allows you to calibrate the optical sight so that it is aligned with the axis of the barrel. In short, the collimator creates a target at a distance, using only the length of the rifle barrel, which will reflect the surface and several lenses, and it directs the sight and barrel in the same direction without a single shot. The application is easy to use and does not take a lot of resources, and is of great interest to students, because it is a direct application of the laws of physics in practice.
Physicvirtuallab is an application that includes laboratory studies of six physics sections in which you can change parameters; demonstrate different cases of the same process. It is an excellent assistant for the teacher in the theory teaching. Here is a list of these sections:
1) Light
a) concave and convex mirror (and mirror focus)
b) concave and convex lens (and lens focus)
c) reflections laws
d) light refractions
e) plane mirror
f) image in plane mirror
g) apparent depth
h) apparent depth
i) refractions in a Perspex Blok j) two mirrors
k) color mix
1) Newton color wheel m) total reflection
n) pyramid
0) monocular p) telescope
2) Mechanic
a) net vector
b) projectile
c) linear momentum
d) damped oscillator
e) circular motion
f) Vernier caliper
g) micrometer
h) gravity energy
1) Newton cradle
3) Electricity and Magnetism
a) ohm law
b) Magnetic field
c) Electroscope
d) Simple circuit
e) Electric filed for a negative and a positive source charges
f) Electric field vectors for two positive charges
g) Wire magnetic field
h) Electromagnetic spectrum
i) Faraday law j) Electric motor k) Generator
l) Transformer
m) Wheatstone bridge
n) Lissajous figures
0) Solenoid.
4) Waves
a) Spring oscillator
b) Wave's reflection
c) Wave front
d) String harmonics
e) Harmonic oscillator
f) Sound propagation
g) Superposition
h) Two dimensional interference
1) Doppler effect j) Plane wave
k) waves
l) Young's interference experiment
5) Thermodynamic
a) Temperature scales
b) Depth pressure
c) Barometer
d) Differential pressure
e) Hydraulic pump
f) Gay-Lussac's law
6) Quantum Mechanics
a) Photoelectric effect
b) X-ray generation
Conclusions. The collaborative work of the teacher and the student in the Android application environment brings positive results: students' knowledge is improved and their interest in learning increases, and the interest in carrying out their additional research appear.
The role of Android-based devices is gaining momentum in development, and they are generally more likely to become embedded in the educational process.
Android apps cannot completely replace the learning process, they can be good experimental assistants in the hands of an experienced educator who is not afraid to keep up with the latest technology developments, seek out and learn new applications, and adapt to them in order to develop interesting methodological
Magyar Tudomanyos Journal # 40, 2020 support that will appeal to students' desire to carry out new research.
In addition, the Android platform with its elements is open to new developments, which gives you the opportunity to test the power in creating the applications that may not only have a chance to exist, but also serve as a learning process.
References
1. From access to empowerment: UNESCO strategy for gender equality in and through education 2019-2025. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/arky48223/pf0000369000
2. Kosik, V.M., Khomich, V.A., Khomich, Yu.E. (2014). Use android-based mobile devices and tablets in the educational process. Computer at school and family, 4, 19-21 [in Ukrainian].
3. Motivation (2019-2020) Retrieved from: https://termin.in.ua/motyvatsiia/ [in Ukrainian].
