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Optics Tutorial on the Eye

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Overview:: This is a sequence of videos, animations, and quizzes on optics. Starting from the basic of optics and lenses, it leads students through to the basic physics of the human eye.
Type of Material:: Tutorial using Quick–time videos, interactive animations, continuous narration, and slides with graphics.
Recommended Uses:: Tutorial for student introduction to or review of basic optics. Pre–class or in–class demonstrations. This applet is a very good resource for an online class.
Technical Requirements:: This material requires a web browser that runs Quick-time media and Flash animations.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: To determine how the image of light from the sun for both converging and diverging lenses is formed. To determine the focal point and focal length for each lens. To introduce the three principle rays and how the thickness of the lens changes the location of the focal point. To understand how the location of the object affects the location of the image formed by a converging lens. To understand the basic structure of the human eye and the optics of corrective lens.
Target Student Population:: Middle school, high school and introductory undergraduate physics. This could also be used for biology courses.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: The ability to read a metric ruler and sketch straight lines.

Rating:
Strengths:: The content is excellent and explains clearly the basic physics of geometric optics. The experiments that are performed in the videos are very accurate, and similar to standard geometric optics experiments performed in many general physics laboratory courses. The rays that are sketched in the animations are very clear, including the three (3) principle rays.
Some of the common learning hurdles for optics are addressed. Particularly noteworthy are the discussion of the relation between focal length and lens thickness, and the demonstration that images are formed from light going out in all directions from every point on the object.
Concerns:: This material is qualitative in nature, so can only be used as a supplement in classes with a quantitative study of geometric optics.
On the fifth slide of the tutorial there is a check box labeled as controlling the display of principle light rays. This is accurate, as all the light rays are perpendicular to lens, but perhaps will be confusing to students. Principle rays are introduced in a later slide in the more standard case of an object a finite distance from the lens.

Rating:
Strengths:: This is an excellently organized and produced tutorial with check point quizzes included to help students identify concepts they don't understand.
One of the best aspects of this applet is the way in which the human eye was incorporated into the material. The author provides a simulation/animation for us to understand why some people need corrective lens and how they help us to see well.
Concerns:: There are no quantitative calculations. Perhaps the lens and magnification equations could be incorporated to perform some basic calculations.

Rating:
Strengths:: Once the user has the appropriate plug–ins, this applet runs smoothly. There are 12 individual screens that are easy to navigate. Each page contains either an animation or a video and both audio and text explanations. The quiz questions are clear and the user’s score is recorded posted on the screen. The videos are very clear and the animations have excellent detail.
Concerns:: None noted.

Other Issues and Comments:: This is an excellent example of how video, simulations, and questions can be combined into a learning resource.
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