This is a video analysis app from Vernier Scientific that allows students to take video and analyze the position and velocity of the object.

My Take

I really like this app for extension of concepts in the students' every day lives. It is one thing to see a cart rolling down a ramp in the classroom and find it's acceleration, but entirely another thing for a student to take his own video of a car accelerating down a freeway ramp and find it's acceleration using the app. One problem is that it is kind of expensive for every student to purchase it, so the teacher may have to get videos from the kids and import them herself. Or it might be best as a group activity. As with any app for the iPhone / iPad the small screens make it a bit difficult to do group work. One major issue is that the kids have to have a good understanding of the underlying physics concepts to use the app. It is a little complex for it to really be good for exploration. However, the interface is quite easy to use. One caveat is that it takes a bit of learning by the teacher and the students to get this right. For example, the camera must be stationary when taking the video! But when you play with the app you'll see how easy it is to use. The main thing that I really like is that the kids are creating their own experiences which is always nice.