Video Analysis Will Capture Your Physics Students' Attention in the
Classroom 

Physics Academic Software Releases VideoGraph

February 5, 1996-VideoGraph is a unique Macintosh program that allows a
user to analyze QuickTime movies captured live, from videodisc, or from
videotape. The program is designed to create a mental link between
real-world situations and their abstract mathematical representations by
synchronizing the video display with kinematics graphs. VideoGraph allows
the user to control the video being analyzed by selecting specific graphed
data points. You can also move a marker from point to point on the graph
by either playing the video continuously or stepping it back and forth
manually. These real-time graphs are useful in helping physics students
discard the graph-as-picture misconception. 

Developed by Robert 1. Beichner of North Carolina State University,
VideoGraph also includes a companion utility program called VideoGraph,
which simplifies the process of capturing video and producing QuickTime
movies for analysis. VideoGraph allows you to capture video continuously
or frame by frame using a standard VCR and video capture card. You can
even turn a series of PICT files into a QuickTime movie with VideoGraph.
Using a Pioneer videodisc player or a ViSCA-capable device such as a
computer-controlled VCR, VideoGraph can capture a designated number of
frames automatically. The software package also includes seven video clips
ready for use and lists many useful video clips from commercial videotapes
and videodiscs. 

VideoGraph makes it possible to track the position of up to a dozen
objects. Any combination of time and the x and y components of position,
velocity, and acceleration can be plotted against one another. Slopes and
areas on the graphs can be easily determined. Each object can be assigned
a mass, and VideoGraph will calculate and show the position of the center
of mass. Coordinate axes on the video can be rotated, and a user can even
move the origin of coordinates to correct for camera motion. VideoGraph
can also draw velocity vectors right on top of the video to help students
grasp difficult kinematics concepts. Data can easily be exported to a
spreadsheet for further analysis. 

Reviewers are excited by the possibilities of VideoGraph in the classroom.
David Nairns of Temple University says, "VideoGraph has the potential to
become a 'commonground' hypercard-like link to effective use of multimedia
for the physical sciences." 

VideoGraph is published and distributed by Physics Academic Software, which
is a project of the American Institute of Physics in cooperation with the
American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics
Teachers. It is part of a continuing series of educational software from
PAS. 

VideoGraph operates on a Macintosh Plus computer or later operating with
system software 7.0 or higher and 5 MB of RAM. 

VideoGraph may be purchased from Physics Academic Software for $99.95 plus
$3.50 for shipping and handling for the first package ($12.50 foreign air
mail) and $.75 ($4.00 foreign) for each additional package. Lab Packs,
which include ten copies of the software and one User s Manual, are
available for $299.95. High school site licenses are available for
$399.80. Physics Academic Software offers a no-risk guarantee by providing
a full refund for packages returned within 30 days. 

Orders and requests for the Physics Academic Software 1995-1996 Catalog of
Programs should be directed to Physics Academic Software, Campus Box 8202,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8202. By telephone,
call (800) 955-8275 or (919) 515-7447; Fax (919) 515-2682; E-mail
pas@aip.org. You can also order VideoGraph from the Physics Academic
Software home page at the following address http://www.aip.org/pas/ 
 
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