Electros:: Development of an educational software for simulations in electrostatic

This is an introduction to the main design features of a computer-aided educational package addressed to students of the first years of sciences and engineering. The package includes interrelated tutorials, computer simulation, and self-evaluators, in which graphical output, hypertext, and animations are widely used. The package is devoted to the study of electrostatic fields and potentials produced by charged dielectrics arbitrarily located by the user in three-dimensional space. It provides instant numerical evaluation and a graphical display of the electric field and potentials of the charge distribution created by the user, and permits its investigation with probe charges. The software presented in this paper has all the features we consider important for any educational software of physical phenomena simulation: an integrative character, self-evaluation tests, personalized and active learning process, adaptability to teacher's aims, versatility as a teaching tool, multimedia resources, and simplicity. All these features will be explained in the following sections. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals. Inc.