Quantum mechanics has transformed our society and understanding of science for the past hundred years, and will change the technological landscape of tomorrow through advances like quantum computing and quantum communication. This Quantum for Educators (QEd) workshop will help you prepare your students for the future and celebrate the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
Quantum for Educators will be offered through four free live virtual sessions from November 18-21 in fall 2024. An in-person 2025 QEd workshop will be announced in the new year. Please sign up to the mailing list to be the first to know about it.
Registrations for these sessions is now closed.
This workshop is open to secondary science and technology teachers worldwide. The materials are primarily designed for Grade 11 and 12 physics, but interested chemistry, computer science and mathematics teachers are encouraged to apply.
Expenses
There is no cost to attend the virtual QEd sessions in Fall 2024.
Attendance and materials
Recordings of the virtual QEd sessions will be made available to all registrants, along with notes, slides, and other materials. Certificates of attendance for confirming professional development activity are only available to educators who attend the Zoom sessions live.
More information, including links for the sessions and resources, will be provided in early November. If you have any questions, please reach out to a iqc-outreach@uwaterloo.ca.
Schedule
| Date and time | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday, November 18 | 7 to 9 p.m. ET |
Qubits, Superposition, and Measurement Learn how to connect the polarization of light to the concepts of superposition and measurement, the two golden rules of quantum mechanics. By working with 2D vector components, you can show students the effect of quantum measurement disturbance and how bits encoded in quantum systems behave differently than classical ones. We’ll apply these ideas to cryptography with an overview of the quantum key distribution protocol and showcase hands-on experiments that your students can use to explore superposition and measurement. |
| Tuesday, November 19 | 7 to 9 p.m. ET |
Wave-Particle Duality and Quantum Interference How can wave and particle behaviours be seen in the same experiment? We’ll explore interference through the lens of wave-particle duality to show that wave-like and particle-like properties emerge depending on how we analyze our data. We’ll connect these ideas to accurate sensing technologies and familiar experiments like the double-slit experiment. We’ll also explore a student-friendly thought experiment on how to test a quantum firework. |
| Wednesday, November 20 | 7 to 9 p.m. ET |
Uncertainty, Probability, and Quantum Computing Just because it is uncertain doesn’t mean its unintuitive! We’ll shed light on the uncertainty principle and the role of probability in quantum mechanics. We’ll overview classroom-friendly hands-on activities using lasers and dice. We’ll also see how probability and superposition change the logic that quantum computers use and apply it to a simple quantum algorithm. |
| Thursday, November 21 | 7 to 9 p.m. ET |
Entanglement and The Quantum Zoo Entanglement isn’t so spooky after all! In this session, we’ll explore how to use a picture-based approach to understand what makes entanglement uniquely quantum mechanical and why studies of entanglement were awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics. Finally, we’ll explore the variety of qubits that can be used to build quantum technology of the future, including atoms and superconductors. |