Physics 20x | Ecampus | Learning Tools |
 |
Throughout the term we will be using a number of different learning tools software. Here you can learn where and how each tool fits into the curriculum. Each one of them serves a very specific purpose and was chosen based on cost, accessibility, and functionality. There are no all-in-one solutions on the market and those that come close have a hefty price tag. We hope you find our mostly free solutions the right tool for job. You will be expected to be familiar with basic computer skills such as using the internet, using email, and installing softare. Use the link below to make sure it meets OSU's minimum requirements for accessing online and hybrid courses.
Check your computer | 
General Course Tools
Official course website with access to everything you need including the syllabus, calendar, learning modules, and more. BoxSand also houses all necessary study resources including pre/post lecture videos, textbook, infographics, equation sheets, and more. Everything you will ever need is linked to on the BoxSand Calendar.
Canvas is used to deliver the pre/post lecture homework, reflective writing exercises, and for turning in your weekly lab notebooks. All of these are also accessible on the BoxSand Calendar. Canvas can also be used to check the gradebook.
Slack is a communication tool to enable easy online interaction. There are channels for the live lectures (Virtual Classroom), TA support in the WormHole, lab meetup, and general study. You can use the general study channel to meet up with friends and create your own breakout rooms with audio, video, and shared whiteboards.
Zoom is a video conferencing platform for real-time video and audio chat. It is integrated into Slack such that you can type /zoom in any channel and start a Zoom session. The link above goes to the general OSU Zoom page where you can start more general sessions not associated with this class. Zoom enables shared screens and digital whiteboards. Zoom and Slack are used to bring people closer.
Gradescope.com is a better grading system for handwriteen work. You will turn in your challenge homework here. Exams will also be graded using Gradescope.
OneNote is the best solution for note taking and general organization. It is ideal for integrating handwriting from a tablet with digital content such as problem statements and figures. We use it to organize the entire curriculum and you can use the lecture templates to follow along during lecture. Feel free to do your homework on OneNote and print as a PDF to be uploaded to Gradescope. The lab manual is also in OneNote to allow for easy addition of figures and handwriting of equations or physical representations. OneNote is part of the Microsoft Office Suite.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is the default PDF reader.
Lecture Tools
Zoom is video conferencing software integrated into Slack that allows real-time video and audio chat. It enables shared screens and digital whiteboards. While in a live-lecture you'll have both the main Zoom room with the instructor but also a break-out room for working with a group.
We strongly encourage you to use a tablet in this class and OneNote is the best orangization tool that incorperates hand written work with digitial content. You can access the class lecture templates from the Archive and then fill them out during lecture while you follow along.
Lab Tools
The lab manuals and notebooks are in OneNote. You can access the whole term and complete them right there in OneNote. After your done you click on that week's lab in the Calendar. You'll be rediected to a Canvas quiz where you can submit you're ready for grading.
Graphical Analysis comes with your lab kit SmartCart. It is the basic software that allows you to extract the data from the cart into a data table you can use in Excel.
Microsoft Excel is used to organize and analyzing data. You can manipulate and plot data, including fitting the data to well known functions. Unfortunately the online version doesn't have all the features needed for data anlysis so you will need to run a local version. Excel is part of the Microsoft Office Suite.
Image Editor
Croping, splicing, adding text, e.g. Paint, Photoshop, Gimp, Preview and Photos. Which program you use depends on whether you use a PC or Mac. See the OSU helpdesk found on the Support site for more help.
Snippet Tool
Cut screenshots to clipboard, e.g. Snipping tool, Print Screen, Grab. Which program you use depends on whether you use a PC or Mac. See the OSU helpdesk found on the Support site for more help.