TEACHx 2018

Many interesting topics are hard to demonstrate in classes without costly equipment and logistic hassles. Good examples of such topics are ad hoc polls, making measurements, and performing calculations. In fact, many instructors will have thought “Darn! I wish we could do that in class.” Smartphones, which students own and are (perhaps unduly) comfortable with, have many otherwise expensive instruments like built-in sensors that are used for phone operations such as navigation, screen rotation, and personal customization of apps. But they are also nifty tools that make class activities easier, faster, and more fun. We present applications that illustrate the potential for using smartphones in a wide variety of geophysics teaching. Instructors have two options: Forget about these nifty tools and keep doing labs the old way, or benefit from smartphones as mini-computers and tiny, powerful instruments. Our advice to instructors is to see whether smartphones work in their applications.