Feynman, Lewin, and Einstein Download Zoom: A Guide for Incorporating E-Teaching of Physics in a Post-COVID World

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive guide for physics educators to effectively incorporate e-teaching methods, especially via smartphones and social media, in a post-COVID educational landscape, addressing challenges and offering practical recommendations.

Contribution

It offers a novel, all-in-one resource with specific strategies for physics distance education, emphasizing technology use and administrative adaptation post-pandemic.

Findings

Smartphones and social media are effective tools for physics e-learning.

Faculty cite lack of time as a primary barrier to adopting new teaching methods.

Guidelines improve the implementation of virtual physics courses.

Abstract

Distance education has expanded significantly over the last decade, but the natural sciences have lagged in the implementation of this instructional mode. The abrupt onset of the COVID-19 pandemic left educational institutions scrambling to adapt curricula to distance modalities. With projected effects lasting through the 2020--21 academic year, this problem will not go away soon. Analysis of the literature has elucidated the costs and benefits of, as well as obstacles to, the implementation of e-learning, with a focus on undergraduate physics education. Physics faculty report that a lack of time to learn about research-driven innovation is their primary barrier to implementing it. In response, this paper is intended to help physics lecturers and lab instructors re-think their courses now that distance learning is far more prevalent due to the pandemic. This paper serves as an all-in-one guide of recommendations for successful distanced educational practices, with an emphasis on smartphones and social media. These technologies were chosen for their utility in a virtual environment. Additionally, this paper can be used as a resource for university administrators to adapt to the changing needs associated with new teaching modalities.