Using the Wacom 2241 Pen Display in the Chemistry Classroom
One of the main things the attracted me to the iPad in the first place was the way it is a tool for creating short videos demonstrating chemistry problems to be posted online for student viewing and reviewing. One of the first tasks I completed when I got my first iPad back in 2010 was create a screencast using the ShowMe app that I posted to help my students review Lewis dot structures. The last time I checked it had over 11,500 views! (That's a lot for me.)
I started creating chemistry videos back in the early 2000's using an HP tablet. It took forever. The software was slow and then the video had to be "rendered" in an appropriate "codec" which could then be posted online as a Quicktime video or Windows Media Player video. Here are some of my earliest examples that I called Chemistry mini web lectures. I still use them today and many students have commented that the short videos have helped them understand problem solving.
Movie production just got a lot easier and quicker for me! My department acquired 3 Wacom 2241 pen displays.
The pen display is a large tablet or (22") extra monitor that can be written on with a special pen.
In my General Chemistry class this week we were learning about molecular shapes and VSEPR theory. The whole point of VSEPR theory is to help us understand the 3-dimensional structure of molecules. First we learn Lewis dot structures. Lewis is a helpful theory but we soon see that Lewis structures have many exceptions and they don't really predict shapes. VSEPR theory is an improvement on Lewis theory in that it does predict 3-D shapes. The problem is that we then draw these shapes on 2-dimensional paper and the students don't really get a true picture of the 3 dimensions. The Odyssey folks have created a neat little app that lets us get real close to the 3-D structures on the iPad. Here is a picture of the app icon:
I have tried other apps that I really like and reviewed in earlier posts. What is missing from the other apps is a depiction of the unshared or nonbonding electrons that are so important in influencing the shape of the molecule. In this Odyssey app the unshared electrons are shown:
In other apps I have used the shape of this bent molecule was clear but Odyssey VSEPR is the only app I have found that shows those two nonbonding pairs of electrons that cause this molecule to be bent.
Have students create introductory videos as a first use of iPads in your class
In my Organic Chemistry lab class about one third of the students have their own iPad. Probably about half have used them in other classes leaving about half that have had little to no experience with iPads in an educational setting. I have noticed that when students create a digital lab report in my class many of them have frustrating problems which arise. Some of these problems are good as they cause the students to problem-solve. This is a good skill. But sometimes the frustration level is too high and it distracts from the real purpose of the iPad in that particular assignment. The purpose is to utilize the technology as a tool to develop and express creativity as the students better articulate the difficult chemistry concepts they learned in a format other than purely written.
Yesterday was the first time I took out the iPads in my Fall 2014 Organic lab. I am starting out a little differently from previous semesters.
Generally, my thinking is that iPads will reinforce a skill but in a much deeper way than just practicing the skill on a homework assignment. This did not turn out to be the case when I had students create screencasts of "net ionic equations."
I think that writing a net ionic equation really synthesizes many different skills and concepts learned in a chemistry class. The students have to demonstrate that they know how to write symbols and formulas, balance equations, predict products, know the solubility rules, distinguish between strong and weak acids. In other words net ionic equations are one of those things that "ties it all together." So what a perfect type of skill to demonstrate on a screencast. I assigned my students each a different equation. They had to write the "molecular", "total ionic" and "net ionic" equations. As they wrote they had to audibly explain what they were writing. This is no different from other screencast assignments. My thinking was that the assignment would make them learn the skill so deeply that they would all "ace" the exam. This did not happen at all. Here is a typical problem:
This is the type of problem that gives students fits because you are given a strong acid HCl and it produces a weak acid HF. In the total ionic equation H + (aq) and Cl- (aq) are written separately because HCl completely ionizes in aqueous solution. Conversely HF(aq) is written in its molecular form because it mostly stays unionized as molecules. Students have a difficult time with this.
Here is another example screencast of net ionic equations. In that example a precipitate is formed.
I have been writing about the use of iPads in the college chemistry class. But I am also a parent of three kids. Two are now in college and my youngest, Sam, is just entering Junior High. I think my youngest child's education will end up being very different from that of my oldest two. For my oldest two they did not use iPads at all. But iPads were used quite a lot in my youngest's last year of elementary school and now they are taking over the educational process at his junior high. I would like to write about my initial thoughts as a parent observing the use of iPads in my child's schools.
Mole Calculations and Lewis Dot Structures in a First Level Chemistry Class
Up to this point I have tried to use the iPad in Organic Chemistry lab and 2nd semester General Chemistry Lecture and Lab. My colleague Cheryl Shimazu has used the iPads in 1st semester General Chemistry. This semester I decided to use them in my Preparatory Chemistry class. I wanted to see how students in their first semester of chemistry, and some in their first year of college, would work with the iPads. My plan was to reinforce mole calculations during lab time. We have a lab in this class that we have been thinking about replacing for some time so I took the liberty of doing a different kind of "hands-on" experience.
Moles are one of the cornerstones of chemistry. Up to this point in the semester students have mastered dimensional analysis with mostly familiar units. But using the mole takes dimensional analysis to a whole new level. If students can master moles then they will have a very high chance of succeeding in the rest of the calculations of chemistry. But often students get stuck in the "mole hole."
I really want them to "master" the concept of moles and how to perform gram to mole and mole to mole and particle to mole calculations. I think that if they are required to explain the concept they will have a chance for it to sink in deep. So as I have many times I turned to the iPads and the app "Educreations" to give the students a chance to teach the world. Here are some links to their productions and then I will make some observations:
Steam distillation is a very common experiment done in organic chemistry labs everywhere. I like this experiment. We start with ground cloves and take out the essential oil eugenol. The room begins to smell of this wonderful molecule and it reminds me of pumpkin pie and all of those delightful smells of thanksgiving! Here is the structure of this molecule that can be found on the iPad app called "Nice Molecules":
I took a screenshot of the molecule and saved the image as a jpeg on my desktop iMac. I just marvel at the way molecules are put together and the way their structure produces their function. My students like that fact that we are not just performing steam distillation on any old molecule. Eugenol is something that is used every day and it allows me to demonstrate the relevance of chemistry to our whole life. The big challenge of using iPads in my organic chemistry class to produce digital lab reports has been time. It takes a lot of time for the students to learn the technology of an app like Explain Everything. It takes a lot of time to produce the video from their pictures and voice and all of the cool tools you have with this screen casting app. I had the students produce videos for simple and fractional distillation and one of the screencasts was almost 18 minutes long! I think they should be limited to about 7 minutes or so.
For steam distillation I decided to go a different direction. I just attended the CUE conference in Palm Springs and heard about the idea of using iMovie to make trailers. In this app there are templates that make it very easy to create these short, information-packed movies. I wanted to have my students be familiar with the technology of this app before they came to class so I assigned them to watch two YouTube videos on making trailers with the iPad app iMovie. They had to send me their evaluations of these "How to" videos via a google form. When they came to class the next day I told them that their quiz on the steam distillation lab was to create a short "documentary" or trailer using iMovie. Their creation had to describe the purpose, process and product of steam distillation of eugenol. The first movie is a trailer using the iMovie template. Be careful the music makes it very dramatic!
The second movie is not a trailer. The students simply used iMovie to make a quick video describing steam distillation in 90 seconds. Here it is:
At Cerritos College we have an "iPad work group" made up of faculty members and an IT guy who all received an iPad with the exhortation: "Go explore." I just love the attitude of the folks at my school. The work group is sort of like the old "skunk works" research group that engineering firms used to test and innovate new ideas. In February we met on a Friday for a workshop. this workshop was quite different from any I had attended, because it was run by students!
I used to think that teaching was essentially teacher centered. The teacher would convey knowledge in the form of lecture and the students would absorb it. Of course the students had to study in order to commit this knowledge to memory and deepen understanding, but this lecture model was the best way to teach in my mind. In short, this is teaching by telling.
It didn't work so well. I distinctly remember when I realized this many years ago. It was gas laws. Yes those gas laws get 'em every time! I thought I did it so well. I lectured with enthusiasm. I showed the "wow" kind of demos like the collapsing can. I lectured. I had them do the lab where the students calculate the molar volume of a gas. I lectured on the gas laws. I showed cool video demonstrations. I modeled the way to do calculations. I gave a quiz. The students all failed the quiz. Do you see the pattern here? I,I, I,I...I failed! But with failure comes learning.
The need for meaningful experience in the process of learning
It started to hit me when I asked my students. "You know when you are washing dishes and put a cup full of air upside down...what happens?"
"We have dish washers teacher!"
I realized my students did not have many of the experiences that I had had growing up that implicitly taught me about gases. So I decided to give them more experiences. Perhaps the reason they did not do well on the abstract calculations was because they did not understand the concepts behind the calculations!
The next year I ordered a set of Boyle's Law Apparatus. This is basically a syringe with a block on top and a block on the bottom so that you can stand it up freely. It also allows one to stack weights, like books, on top. It is very simple.
If you push on the blocks, you feel the invisible gas push back!
Finding Misconceptions
I then had the students draw diagrams, I called them "Black Box Diagrams", by which the student would have to draw what they imagined was what was going on inside the syringe at the molecular level. What they drew astounded me. I made them draw two diagrams, one with very little weight on the top block and one with lots of weight on the top block. The students were all over the map. Several drew the molecules as if they were balloons. With little external pressure on the apparatus the ballon-like molecules were large and with much pressure the balloon-like molecules shrunk! I had no idea they thought this way! They did not grasp the fundamental concept that the molecules are not changing at all. The molecules simply bump into each other more with increased pressure. Then I asked the students, "What is in between these molecules you drew." Almost unanimously I heard them answer, "Air!" I would always get one or two students in a class that would say, "Nothing, it's empty space." But again the majority proved that they had so many misconceptions about gases. (Sort of like I too had misconceptions about teaching and learning.)
But I realized that I intuitively had an understanding of gases that I had built up over years of experience and guidance from my teachers and through struggle. This made Charles' Law and it's algorithms in my mind just a natural and direct consequence of that intuition. My students did not have the same experiences. So either they came to an understanding of gases that had some misconceptions or they simply made up their theories. I suspect it was a little of both. Nevertheless they had ideas of gases that stood as a roadblock to understanding the abstract concepts of Boyle's, Charles' and Gay-Lussac's laws and the uses of them in calculations.
Our current understanding of the brain backs this up. We are constantly forming chemical connections between the proteins which make up our brain cells. Although I think learning is more than just brain chemistry, connections between brain cells are necessary. But what if a brain connection is made that represents a false idea? Would that pose a problem to developing a correct understanding? Is it possible that a misconception, "bad brain connection" must be disconnected and then reconnected in a new "good brain connection"?
If this is the case and much of brain research seems to say it is, then I need to have my students confront their misunderstandings about science (disconnect past connections in the brain) and form new connections that represent a more correct understanding of the science concepts.
Constructivist learning theory
This theory of learning is called in the academic world Constructivism. Now some will go so far as to say that students construct reality or students construct knowledge. I don't go that far. Knowledge of reality is something outside of me that is correct whether I say so or not. For example I don't construct knowledge of sulfuric acid. The knowledge of the reality about sulfuric acid is what it is no matter what I think. I certainly can have misconceptions of acid. That would have serious consequences. But I do think we construct our understanding of of this knowledge about such things as molecules and sulfuric acid.
Teacher as facilitator
And so my students construct their own understanding of of the world. I play a part in that by providing experiences for them, sharing my own experiences, giving lectures, asking them questions that make them think, etc. But I believe one thing for sure: My students don't come to me with blank slates for minds that I just fill in for them with my words. They have much prior understanding that I as a teacher must probe and understand so that I can help them understand abstract chemistry concepts. Often that probing reveals an incorrect understanding by one of my students. I think my job at that point is to create a learning experience for them in which they come face to face with that misconception and help them struggle to gain a better understanding. More and more I see my role as a facilitator of learning. This takes the focus off of me. The students' needs for forming good conceptions come to play a bigger role in what drive my teaching.
iPads help students construct knowledge
I think the iPads are a wonderful tool for students to develop their deeper understanding of scientific concepts. You can almost see the connections forming in their brains as they plan their presentation and begin to develop an explanation for the chemistry behind the experiment. This especially was visible to me when I had them produce a presentation in groups. Their wheels are really turning. They want to get it right! I have one student who produces high quality written lab reports that are very organized and the student gets good lab results, but sometimes this student does not quite explain the chemistry correctly. I have witnessed this student get better at it as time has gone on.
The current assignment was to create a digital lab report for simple and fractional distillation. In the presentation they had to explain the difference between the two types of distillation. These concepts are pretty high level. When writing a lab report, the discussion is pretty one-dimensional. But with a screen cast, there is verbal explanation but also diagrams, pictures, and graphs that the student must use to explain the chemistry. I think this is heavy construction! Can anyone say "physical chemistry" without flinching?
Students own their learning
In Organic Chemistry I have wanted my students to create digital lab reports that demonstrate this deep understanding. The biggest challenge for most has not been the chemistry, it has been learning how to use the iPads and the apps. The term "digital native" might not be as good a description as I once expected. But by the middle of the semester I think my students have arrived at the point where they are producing some high quality screencasts. Usually we spend two days on distillation, one for simple and one day for fractional. But this time I thought I would try to do both in one day and give the students the other three hour lab period for working on their screen cast. The students made a good start on their screencasts in three hours but most needed more time. I told them that they could come in any time I am on campus and check out an iPad. I also gave them a week to complete the assignment. Most of them either used their own iPads, I think six students either had their own at the beginning of the semester or convinced their mom and dad to get them one, or they borrowed one from a friend. Of fifteen students only one was unable to complete turn in the screen cast URL on the due date. I let this student have the extra time needed to get it done. I could see the student was getting stressed out and taking it very seriously so I had no problem giving extra time. Here are some of the best screencasts using the app Explain Everything.
You can see that each student took a different approach to explaining the difference between simple and fractional distillation.
Where to go from here
We are now well over half way through the semester. I still think it is very important that the students write. I want them to write well. I tell them that they will probably forget much of the chemistry they learn in my class. But there are two more important things I want them to learn. The first is how to learn. If I can equip them to be learners of difficult concepts on their own, what more could I want. Well I also want them to be good communicators. This involves both speaking, clearly articulating heavy concepts in a way that is understandable, and it involves writing, making a claim and backing it up with solid evidence.
I plan to have the students create their own lab reports for the caffeine extraction lab. And I think I want to have them create one more report after that, perhaps a synthesis that involves explaining the mechanism. I also want to give them at least one more "digital quiz" before the semester ends. Now that they have spent so much effort learning the technology, I want them to feel like they can create a good presentation of heavy chemistry easily. Stay tuned.
