Dr. Dennis LEUNG (AP), Dr. C.L. MAK (AP), Dr. Joe LAM (ABCT)
Laboratory teaching is an indispensible part of science education. Performing experiments can train students’ observation, analysis and presentation skills, and fortify their classroom learning experience in engaging ways. But often laboratory teaching support is absent due to various reason (complexity and hazards associated with experiments, captical costs, etc.). particularly for 1st year subjects and general education courses. Besides, typical lab sessions have fixed schedules and durations, which cannot accommodate students with diversified learning abilities.
Since 2010 the Department of Applied Physics of PolyU has been developing an award-winning remote-controlled physics experiment platform, and a mobile apps that allow data acquisition using sensor in mobile phones. Students can perform, and repeat, physics experiments outside laboratories according to their schedules, thus facilitating the learning of all students.
In this sub-project we expand the idea to biology courses. We will establish a remote-controlled experiment for exploring the Greenhouse effect. Besides, using cheap and portable sensors ,we will construct apps-controlled environmental detection units for monitoring the air quality in various locations in Hong Kong. The setups will be piloted in a general education course in PolyU, and has good potential for deployment in similar courses in other sister institutions in Hong Kong.
