THE USE OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES IN SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

The development and design of new technologies like computers and sensors has allowed the scientific community reach new horizons in the research and teaching of physics sciences, but for many decades these technologies have been reserved only for universities, laboratories or large companies. But with the arrival of mobile technologies such as smartphones and tablets and many built- in sensors the opportunity to do experiments in school is now possible (eg. column about smartphones as experimental tools established in The Physics Teacher journal since 2012) [1]. In this contribution, we will discuss two questions. Based on work within a larger research and development project at the University of Geneva: 1 Exploring the potential for science education, in particular in laboratory courses. Can we use mobile devices in school? 2 Exploring, to which extend scientific research can be done with mobile devices? Our contribution will give a short overview about the state of research regarding the first question, with a rather clear "yes" as answer, and complete it with some new studies of our own (eg. for classical mechanics). It will address the second question, and present several experimental studies, among others about biomechanics of vertical jump and acoustical phenomena in the human body (knuckle-cracking), and our natural environment. We will conclude with a discussion of a tentative "yes" as answer also for the second question, of limitation of the approach, and of new perspectives in the framework of citizen science.