In these days of online learning, simulations are a really powerful tool. They stand in for practical work on occasion and can be used instead of static drawings. I use them in normal times too because they allow students to visualise process more easily and to try things out for themselves.
These are my favourite three sites (and my most used simulations from each).
Firstly, PHET. Everyone knows PHET, right? I found it during my first year teaching, initially for the photoelectric effect and now for almost everything. They are amazing – their design is research based and the addition information on using them is well worth reading. They give students the opportunity to explore, discover, hypothesis and test, and are not just about visualisation. My most used is the circuit builder.
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc
I use this for pretty much every age group from Yr 7 up. They can build circuits easily, deal with data without errors, spot patterns more easily and check answers from real equipment. And it never stops working, so there is no time spent working while bulb/wire/ammeter has failed. Although trouble shooting is an important part of practical work so I will never move to always using simulations.
I also like https://ophysics.com – I only found this recently – but is proved a life saver in the first lockdown. I’m not sure I have a favourite yet, but I do like the vector addition and superposition practice. There is so much to look at on this site, and it is great for independent sixth formers who want to explore or consolidate.
Finally, there is https://www.walter-fendt.de/html5/phen/. Many of these allow students to see the effect of changes to a system, but my most used simulation is for standing waves.
https://www.walter-fendt.de/html5/phen/standingwavereflection_en.htm
Because students can just see how the standing wave is made of the superposition of two progressive waves travelling in opposite directions. They can’t change many variables in this, but it allows for quick visualisation of the process
This brings me onto one of the important parts of learning physics. It is pretty hard to describe what goes in on my head and who knows about anyone else, but for me, physics isn’t just a series of linked facts, or using of equations to solve problems, or ‘working like a scientist’ whatever that is supposed to mean. It is about having as series of functional models in my head that allow me to visualise the process taking place. Only then, can I start doing the rest. And I find using simulations provides a short cut when developing these models because they are more concrete – so it easily to peg on the abstract ideas. This is especially true if the system varies spatially and temporally. I remember having tremendous trouble myself with waves, because I could not link representations of variations with time and space together.
The reflective physics teacher 