Virtual Classrooms

Introduction to Virtual Classrooms

This page is an introduction to Virtual Classrooms and our online high school physics course for parents, teachers, school administrators and anyone else who is interested in innovative ideas in education.

My name is Ray Kronquist, and I received my Ph.D. in plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968. I founded a company in the semiconductor equipment industry in the mid seventies, which I sold in May of 1998.

I began my career in education in the fall of 1998, teaching introductory physics at San Jose State University, San Jose City College and Mission College. I founded Virtual Classrooms at the end of 1998 to develop and deliver high school physics courses over the Internet.

Your students may find these courses unusual since they will do their work from a school or home computer rather than in a traditional classroom. However, our goal is to make them very effective from a learning point of view, great fun and very cost effective. We think you and they will be pleased with what we have to offer.

  1. Three versions of the physics course:
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    We are actually offering three versions of our introductory physics course:

    1. Physics I and Physics II: The basic course which emphasizes a good conceptual understanding of physics.

    2. Physics I-AP-B and Physics II-AP-B, a college level course: The Advanced Placement version of the course which prepares the student for the AP-B exams to get advanced placement in college for a "physics for non science majors" course.

    3. Physics I-AP-C and Physics II-AP-C, a college level course: The Advanced Placement version of the course which prepares the student for the AP-C exams to get advanced placement in college for a "physics course for science and engineering majors" course.

  2. All three courses are approved by the University of California as satisfying the "d" admission requirement for a laboratory science.
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    You can read more details about these courses and see the letter of approval from the University of California be clicking on:

    Course Description

  3. Components of the courses:

    4. We will use the following resources or components in the courses:

    1. Virtual Classrooms web site for definition of concepts and introduction to each chapter.

    2. Simple laboratory experiments the student does with materials available in the home and in the classroom.

    3. Public web sites with textbook like descriptions of the material for each chapter. (No special textbook is required; all materials are online.)

    4. Public web sites for homework problems, with automatic grading and instant feedback to the student.

    5. Exams, online or at school.

    6. Online class discussion groups, where the students can ask questions on problems and concepts they don't understand. Most questions will be answered by other students, as we show students how to collaborate and work in teams to support one another. Experienced teachers will monitor these discussion groups and intervene when necessary.

    7. Real time chat sessions, where small groups of students get online at the same time to discuss problems, concepts and projects.

    8. Possibly team projects, where teams of students will collaborate online to solve a simulated real life problem. For example, we may have a group of astronauts stranded on the moon. A Physics I student team is given the problem of determining the direction and the velocity for firing a rocket to resupply the astronauts with critical equipment. If they miscalculate, the astronauts will perish. If they calculate successfully, the astronauts and the students will enjoy a hero's welcome upon their return to earth. The students must take account of the motion of the moon, its distance from the earth, the effect of the earth's gravity and the moon's gravity.

  4. Advantages of online courses:
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    There are a number of advantages that online courses offer compared to a regular classroom course. For example:

    1. Students can work from a home or school computer at any time so there are no schedule conflicts with other courses or school activities.


    2. There is no minimum class size. One or two students from a single high school can be accommodated, since they study together over the Internet with students from other high schools.


    3. Students can work at their own pace, as long as they are prepared for the scheduled exams. Faster students can move quickly through the material; slow students can take more time.


    4. Student participation can be much higher since each student posts questions and other messages to the class discussion group and reads replies whenever he/she is ready to do so.


    5. A number of technology tools can be used such as applets (short animation programs) and automatic grading of homework problems so students get quick feedback on their work.


    6. The cost is low, $200. per student per semester, and no textbook is required.


    7. Students working at home do not require classroom space.

  5. Links to further information:


    6.  Here are some links that may answer some of your questions about the course:

    1. Student Page: An introductory page written for your students.


    2. Course Description: A more detailed description and letter of approval by the University of California.


    3. Student Testimonials: Comments from past students about their experiences studying physics online.


    4. Research Articles on the Teaching of Physics: Over 200 studies have been done on the teaching of physics documenting the importance of active student participation in the learning process. This online course is based on what has been learned by the researchers whose studies are documented in this list.


    5. Grading System: A web site which I used in my class at San Jose City College last semester showing how the grades will be calculated for this course. The grades are updated frequently so the students can see at any time how they are doing and what they need to do to improve their grade.


    6. Founder Background: A description of my professional experience.


    7. Chapter 1: Click on this link to see how we present the first chapter of the course.

    Well, that's a summary of what we are offering. We invite you to check out the links above and to review a few chapters in the course. We will look forward to your feedback and to having your students study with us online. Enjoy!!