Computers have changed the way we work, be it any profession.

Therefore, it is only but natural

the role of computers in education has been given a lot of prominence in the recent years. The
uses of computers in education are manifold. A computer is a system. It is a combination of
related parts performing a unified job of receiving inputs, processing the information and
transforming them into a new kind of result. The focus of this assignment is to provide further
understanding on the use of a computer as a learning and teaching aid in the teaching of physics.

Lucido and Borabo (1997) gave the following advantages of using the computer as a learning
aid:
1. It allows students to learn at their own pace by having control over the rate and sequence
of learning.
2. Learning is reinforced by way of high speed personalized response.
3. There is a positive affective climate for learning especially for slow learners.
4. Color, music, and animated graphics add realism and appeal to drill exercises, laboratory
activities, simulations and others.
5. Progress in learning is easily monitored with the record keeping ability of the computers.

It is somewhat of a clich that computers are revolutionizing education, it is still not common in
the 21st century to find computer-based interactive curricular materials (Christian 2000).
Adopting these technologies may improve the teaching of physics concepts. There are interactive
digital media, such as, java applets that allow users to manipulate variables to observe changes in
the affected variables. There are also websites with extensive content on physics topics.
However, few websites have coherent integration of sound pedagogical instructional materials,

well-conceived and is customizable to suit the specific objectives of educators. Traditional

classroom teaching without the use of computer simulation tends to be difficult in addressing
misconceptions in projectile motion. Computer based laboratory e-lessons facilitated by an
instructor with sound instructional strategies and ease of use, can meaningfully enhance and
complement the existing schools physics education in Zimbabwe.

Evidence points to the fact that students learn less than we intend them to and to bring about
conceptual change requires the introduction of new teaching and learning habits (Lenaertsand
Wieme 2004).The researchers and teachers have come to know that students frequently find it
difficult to grasp many concepts in physics, often because these concepts are complex or abstract
and cannot be visualized or made concrete, or it is not feasible or possible to demonstrate them in
a practical way in the classroom.

E-learning in Physics Technology allows for experimentation on phenomena such as free-fall due
to gravity, and many others, to assist students to visualize physical situations that are not possible
or safe to explore under traditional classroom conditions without the use of such technology.
With computer-aided assessment, students can receive immediate feedback about their progress
(Titus, Martin et al. 1998). Multimedia-enhanced questions can use motion and sound to
illustrate pertinent information. A good course supplies motivation or builds upon motivation
that is there in the first place (Schank 2002).Students will not learn anything even from the best
course if they cannot see how and what they will learn apply to them. For example projectile
motion may or may not be inherently motivating to know, as the teacher i should embed the
relevance of knowing projectile motion in context of how it affects sport scientists discovery

of throwing ball games, like in free throws in football, making it motivating to draw personal
motivation from. The communication capabilities of the computer must be used to create a feedback loop between instructor and student (Christian 2001). As a teacher you can implement elessons and the aim would be to provide useful resources, for joint problem solving and shared
learning environment to augment face-to-face contact in and outside of class meetings. Students
can use constructive tools to work cooperatively and construct a shared understanding of new
knowledge. On ways of co- constructive is the use of the electronic whiteboard where students
may post notices to a shared document/whiteboard. Students may also co-edit the same
document from their homes.

The computer can provide vast amounts of information in various forms, such as text, graphics,
sound and video. As a teacher, I can make use of the school computer laboratory for example
Students can watch a short clip on computers describing an experiment. Having watched the clip,
they discuss: -what was good about the design of the expt? -what was wrong with the
experiment? The advantage of this is that the students can watch the clip over and over again till
they fully grasp the concept. To use the computer as tutor and tool can both improve and enrich
classroom learning

The computer help students to learn more about their favorite subjects, but
it also helps students with special needs to access information, that before
was difficult for them to achieve. ]For example, a student with cerebral palsy can
use a wheel chair with a notebook computer to enable the participation in wholelanguage lessons along with the rest of his classmates. At this present time, the

computer has become the most prominent technology used to assist students with
disabilities.

In conclusion

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