By Rebecca and Chrystian Vieyra As teachers, students, and their families have navigated online learning this year, science education has taken a bit of a hit. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reported that only 38% of teachers who responded to a survey said that they had been able to engage their students in hands-on laboratory activities during the spring semester after the pandemic forced many school buildings to close. Distance teaching and learning can be tough, especially when teachers can’t count on having the right materials in students’ homes. Fortunately, one thing most families do have in their possession are mobile devices. In the U.S., more than 80% of adults and 96% of 18-29 year olds own at least one device . In turn, teachers and students around the world have increased their use of apps like Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite and phyphox to make data collection with the smartphone’s internal sensors a possibility. With these tools, high
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