THE USE OF COMPUTERS IN THE TEACHING OF PHYSICS

Although computers are not new to most physicists their use in physics teaching is not yet widespread. Some underlying reasons for this are discussed. The need for professional quality software is justified and contrasted with teaching programs developed in the past by academics. These packages, although valuable, are shown to have general problems which are normally associated with being too specific either in terms of hardware requirements or presentation style. Some of the most suitable teaching packages are found to be those that contain little specific information but support sophisticated data manipulations or the study of complex physical simulations in a simple way. Examples of such packages are included and the benefits discussed.