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arXiv · 2504.11363

Smartphone-Based Undergraduate Physics Labs: A Comprehensive Review of Innovation, Accessibility, and Pedagogical Impact

Yiping Zhao
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Abstract

Smartphone-integrated physics laboratories (SmartIPLs) have emerged as a cost-effective and scalable approach that offers new opportunities for enhancing introductory physics education. By leveraging the sensing, imaging, and computing capabilities of smartphones, SmartIPLs enable hands-on, inquiry-based experiments that can be conducted flexibly, in classrooms, at home, or in remote environments. This review presents a comprehensive synthesis of over 200 documented SmartIPL activities across key physics domains, including mechanics, optics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and modern physics. Activities are systematically categorized by topic, sensor modality (sensor-based versus camera-based), and instructional design. The pedagogical value of SmartIPLs is examined through the lens of context-based learning, open-ended inquiry, cognitive scaffolding, and student motivation, with particular attention to issues of accessibility and equity. We also analyze implementation challenges such as device heterogeneity, sensor limitations, and integration into traditional curricula. Looking forward, we identify emerging directions for the field, including AI-driven feedback systems, open-source curricular platforms, and expanded applications in modern physics. This review positions SmartIPLs not merely as technological supplements, but as transformative tools for fostering scientific thinking, modeling skills, and epistemic agency in 21st-century physics education.

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Yiping Zhao. 2025-04-15. Smartphone-Based Undergraduate Physics Labs: A Comprehensive Review of Innovation, Accessibility, and Pedagogical Impact. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404%2Fae2a80

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