WIP: Virtual Physics Laboratory Applied to the Study of the Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves

This WIP innovative practice paper describes a proposal for a Physics Virtual Laboratory (VL) that aims to democratize opportunities for the use of innovative Physics teaching practices, specifically regarding the propagation of light radiation, available free of charge, with the use of digital technologies, being based on and integrated into an active teaching model, focused on a real-world problem. This proposal is motivated by the fact that Physics is taught, in many cases, as an accumulation of equations and variables that can be difficult to understand and seem disconnected from reality, even though Physics is a Science based on observation and experimentation of natural phenomena, having fundamental importance for Engineering and Computing students. To this end, we presented the development of experimental practice tools that constitute a Virtual Laboratory (VL), such as Remote Experimentation (RE), Virtual Simulation (VS), and Virtual Reality (VR) environment (called Makerverse), of the same physical phenomena, observing the propagation behavior of light radiation as a function of distance variation, with the aim of experimentally discovering the equation that governs such mathematical behavior. At the same time, Project-Based Learning (PBL) was chosen to be integrated into our proposal as a teaching model, due to the promising results obtained by different proponents around the world. Furthermore, the topics studied in our proposal go beyond electromagnetic waves, delving into X-rays, applied to Medical Physics and in-depth in Radiology. Although the proposal was developed for different levels of education, at first it was directed and implemented for two classes of Integrated Technical High School in Electronics in Federal Institute of Amazonas Campus Manaus Distrito Industrial (IFAM-CMDI), with face-to-face and remote meetings. To measure the effectiveness of the proposal and the students' affinity with the process, we used different evaluation tools such as analytical rubric, pre- and post-test statistical study, class observation and satisfaction questionnaire. Preliminary results indicate the proposal is promising in terms of learning effectiveness, as well as student affinity, with emphasis on the use of VR as a tool of great interest to students.