Improving quantum education outcomes with Black Opal at the University of Hull, UK
The challenge
The principles of quantum computing can be difficult to learn, even for university students. For a university educator, it can be challenging to find the time and resources to create rigorous, engaging content that follows the syllabus, enhances in-class demonstrations, provides real-world practice projects and completes a joined up teaching approach that improves student outcomes.
Impact
85%
of students reported that Black Opal improved their overall learning outcomes when used alongside their university syllabus, and would recommend its use in future courses.
The outcome
Black Opal was deployed as a turn-key solution to support existing quantum computing courses and provide a framework to assess and practice the skills learned. Students found Black Opal to be a useful and engaging resource that improved their understanding of quantum computing, and educators observed better engagement with the material leading to longer-lasting knowledge and comprehension for students.
The University of Hull has a long history of innovation in technology-enhanced learning and quantum education. The university’s Advanced Quantum Mechanics course, designed and taught by Dr David Benoit, a prize-winning Senior Lecturer in Molecular Physics & Astrochemistry at Hull University, is a leading example of how blending technology with academic rigour can enable better learning.
Dr Benoit, who has taught quantum mechanics for more than 20 years, is always looking to improve the experience and learning outcomes of his students.
Students taking the Advanced Quantum Mechanics course typically have a very strong math and physics background, and a key challenge for these students is to ensure their aptitude for those subjects does not limit them to a mathematical, theoretical understanding of quantum computing. The opportunity is to ensure this understanding is complemented by a real-world physical intuition for quantum computing and its near-term applications, ensuring students also achieve a practical understanding of the subject.
Black Opal has been critical to building real-world quantum intuition for students, acting as an engaging teaching aid for classroom lectures, as well as a valuable take-home resource that has improved overall learning outcomes.
Building real-world intuition with Black Opal
For the Advanced Quantum Mechanics course at Hull University, Dr Benoit wanted a quality secondary learning resource that could be offered in parallel with the main course, providing another point of view on the topics covered in lectures.
"Students who engaged with Black Opal as an active companion resource significantly boosted knowledge retention and ultimately understanding. Some of them even engaged further with quantum computing by choosing a final-year project in that field." Dr David Benoit
Students found Black Opal to be an engaging online resource where every topic is explained in a logical manner and appreciated that the hands-on activities encouraged them to think about the material. The University of Hull has now used Black Opal for two years as a way of enhancing the learning experience for its Advanced Quantum Mechanics course. The platform provides useful coverage of all the key concepts needed to understand quantum computing and builds on them throughout the course.
David had already developed some in-class demonstrations that helped students grasp the concepts and ideas of quantum computing, however he found that designing useful and effective online resources can be hard work and takes time that is often in short supply.
“Black Opal is a good way to introduce engaging, interactive content to my course, without having to spend too long developing it myself. " Dr David Benoit
Taking Black Opal into the classroom
Black Opal is also an ideal resource to bring into the classroom. With thousands of unique visuals, interactive and animations, Black Opal can be used to demonstrate specific quantum concepts in a way that uniquely helps demystify the “how” of quantum computing. Whether it is illustrating single qubit operations on a 3D Bloch sphere, or fundamental algorithms in the multi-qubit simulator, Black Opal provides world-class resources that educators can use to amplify engagement in the classroom.
“We tried other solutions which offer quantum simulators but they were clunky, cluttered and slow. Black Opal’s ability to create circuits live, accompanied by intuitive animations on the Bloch sphere, is an excellent asset to have in the classroom”. Dr David Benoit
Enhancing student outcomes
Surveyed following completion of the course, more than 80% of students found the course to be either “engaging” or “very engaging”, and in particular cited the intuitive layout, straightforward explanations and useful revision activities as key to their positive experience. In particular, students cited the benefits of “prioritising simplicity while keeping the technical language” and said that Black Opal “made it easier to study quantum computing in small chunks”, and that it “provides an intuitive way of interpreting difficult concepts.”
Ultimately, more than 85% of students found that Black Opal improved their overall learning outcomes when used alongside their university syllabus, and would recommend its use in future courses.
"Black Opal is a really well-designed online course that provides an accessible and rigorous coverage of quantum computing. It really helped us link quantum physics theory to the practicalities of developing algorithms on quantum computers."Dr David Benoit
