Searching for "chemistry"

clicker-type questions groupwork for online synchronous class

Higher Ed Learning Collective
https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/711959409434760/

I am thinking about doing clicker-type questions as well as groupwork with instant response as the core of my online synchronous class. With this in mind, I am considering either Top Hat (which the students have used as clickers, but what I am not sure about is how well it works for groupwork) versus Learning Catalytics (which has a mode that I know works well and forces students to do the questions themselves first … which I have a love/hate relationship with – and has some question types that might be interesting but I am not as certain about the interface). I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Thanks!
FWIW: the class is general chemistry.

 

inside a cell with VR

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/new-virtual-reality-software-allows-scientists-to-walk-inside-cells

he software, called vLUME, was created by scientists at the University of Cambridge and 3D image analysis software company Lume VR Ltd. It allows super-resolution microscopy data to be visualised and analysed in virtual reality, and can be used to study everything from individual proteins to entire cells. Details are published in the journal Nature Methods.

Super-resolution microscopy, which was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2014, makes it possible to obtain images at the nanoscale by using clever tricks of physics to get around the limits imposed by light diffraction. This has allowed researchers to observe molecular processes as they happen. However, a problem has been the lack of ways to visualise and analyse this data in three dimensions.

+++++++++++++
more on VR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality

Coursetune on Future Trends

This week we’re diving into technology and its impact on higher education with the help of a terrific guest.  On Thursday, October 1st, from 2-3 pm EDT, we’ll be joined by Maria Anderson, math professor, futurist, entrepreneur, and previous Forum guest.
Maria is the principal consultant at Edge of Learning and the CEO and Cofounder of Coursetune, an edtech company that builds curriculum design, management, visualization, and collaboration software.

Previously, Maria has been the Director of Learning and Research for Instructure. For ten years she taught mathematics as well as chemistry and social media  full-time at Muskegon Community College.  She was also the Learning Futurist for the LIFT Institute.

I plan on asking Maria about how campuses are using new and emerging technology to improve online or blended learning this fall.  Which technologies have moved to the forefront in this pandemic semester?

And, as always, you will have the chance to ask your own questions. After all, the way the Forum works is that all attendees can ask our guests questions, engage and collaborate with other leaders in education technology, and also invite friends and colleagues to join.

To RSVP ahead of time, or to jump straight in at 2 pm EDT this Thursday, click here:

++++++++++++
my notes from the meeting:
CMS do not cut it anymore
class sections are obsolete in online environment

++++++++++++++
more on future trends in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=future+trends

Oligopoly of Academic Publishers

The Oligopoly of Academic Publishers in the Digital Era

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0127502&fbclid=IwAR0MnLpWZLkUnCchbY-kKcAdX6F5YmX-UFkwNtj5NPpbODHjsIqrNQUlNmo

analysis, based on 45 million documents indexed in the Web of Science over the period 1973-2013. It shows that in both natural and medical sciences (NMS) and social sciences and humanities (SSH), Reed-Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Springer, and Taylor & Francis increased their share of the published output, especially since the advent of the digital era (mid-1990s). Combined, the top five most prolific publishers account for more than 50% of all papers published in 2013.

Disciplines of the social sciences have the highest level of concentration (70% of papers from the top five publishers), while the humanities have remained relatively independent (20% from top five publishers). NMS disciplines are in between, mainly because of the strength of their scientific societies, such as the ACS in chemistry or APS in physics.

Young researchers need to publish in prestigious journals to gain tenure, while older researchers need to do the same in order to keep their grants, and, in this environment, publishing in a high impact Elsevier or Springer journal is what ‘counts’. In this general context, the negative effect of various bibliometric indicators in the evaluation of individual researchers cannot be understated. The counting of papers indexed by large-scale bibliometric databases—which mainly cover journals published by commercial publishers, as we have seen in this paper—creates a strong incentive for researchers to publish in these journals, and thus reinforces the control of commercial publishers on the scientific community.

for teachers against stress

Teachers Are Living in a Tinderbox of Stressful Conditions. These Scientific Approaches Can Help.

By Sheila Ohlsson Walker     Jul 1, 2020

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-07-01-teachers-are-living-in-a-tinderbox-of-stressful-conditions-these-scientific-approaches-can-help

Other essential elements include meditation, breathwork, yoga, cultivating and maintaining high-quality relationships, and intentional reinforcement of mindsets that promote human connection, such as gratitude, altruism and collective efficacy. What’s real in the mind is real is real in the body, and it is our perceptions—not “objective” reality—that drive our biochemistry. Accordingly, finding a silver lining—even under the most dire of circumstances—instigates a biochemical “upward spiral” which fosters constructive thinking in a demanding moment and, over the long-term, protects health and psychological well-being.

bio lab in emergency teaching

https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlinelearningcollective/permalink/599387467358622/

Hi everyone- my mom has been teaching Bio 101 with a lab for 39 years. I’m working with her to get ready for the fall semester online but Science isn’t my field. Any recommendations for online bio labs?

Stephanie Edelmann I’m still working on my lab, but here is an extensive list of online resources that was shared with faculty at our school.

https://docs.google.com/…/1Mv0EyCw2QeFIpW5P5qNR5EW…/edit

Rebecca Westphal Carolina has kits…. but they are mostly on back order and hard to get for fall (in US?). You could think of putting together your own kits for students to pick up. There are also many labs using “household” materials such as this spinach photosynthesis lab http://www2.nau.edu/…/photosynthesis/photosynthesis.html.

For introducing basic chemistry I really like the “Build an Atom” simulation on the PhET website, although it’s more of an activity than a “lab”. HHMI biointeractive has lots of free resources and data sets that you could build on, including lots for natural selection — try searching “rock pocket mouse natural selection” on the biointeractive website.

Rachel Scherer https://phet.colorado.edu/_m/ is one of my go to favorites. I have some instructors testing labster out this summer. I haven’t heard anything back so I am guessing it is working well for them. Also

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18iVSIeOqKjj58xcR8dYJS5rYvzZ4X1UGLWhl3brRzCM/htmlview?fbclid=IwAR2h4vyLqHtXW6M80CXTHZ4eUrv-TY8ljCMMZ52zMRGCqqgxwNt6Qq8zpF0#gid=0

Cheryl DeWyer Lindeman https://www.biointeractive.org

Cheryl DeWyer Lindeman https://www.shapeoflife.org/

Sondra LoRe https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/quant_bio_online

+++++++++++++++++
more on emergency teaching in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=emergency+teaching

reactive reality

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kimflintoff_reactive-realities-vr-in-the-chemistry-classroom-activity-6612941264637788160-LVnn

Reactive realities: VR in the chemistry classroom

“VR gives a superior sense of what is happening in the molecular world – you can zoom in and out, and move around in an intuitive way. It makes it much easier to see molecular structures and key parts of a reaction, which is not done as well via other modes,”

Each learning activity led a pair of students through a series of tasks. They built a molecule, then followed the journey of the enzyme reaction.

Students found the ‘tactile’ experience of VR engaging and they were able to quickly build and move molecules to see how they interacted. Watching the students walk around, bend over and peer around virtual objects was a highlight for the team.

+++++++++++++
more on VR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality

proctoring and online learning

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-04-19-online-courses-shouldn-t-use-remote-proctoring-tools-here-s-why

when the option between taking a course online or in-person is provided, studies show students are more likely to stay in college.

Since the early days of online instruction, the response of many new instructors has been to figure out how to transfer elements of their face-to-face class into the online format. In response, education technology companies have been quick to create products that attempt to replicate in-person teaching. Some examples include learning management systems, lecture capture tools, and early online meeting systems.

online proctoring systems, such as ProctorU or Proctorio, replicate a practice that isn’t effective in-person. Exams are only good for a few things: managing faculty workload and assessing low level skill and content knowledge. What they aren’t good at is demonstrating student learning or mastery of a topic. As authors Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt discuss in their book “Assessing the Online Learner: Resources and Strategies for Faculty,” online exams typically measure skills that require memorization of facts, whereas learning objectives are often written around one’s ability to create, evaluate and analyze course material.

Authentic assessments, rather than multiple choice or other online exams, is one alternative that could be explored. For example, in a chemistry course, students could make a video themselves doing a set problems and explain the process. This would allow instructors to better understand students’ thinking and identify areas that they are struggling in. Another example could be in a psychology course, where students could curate and evaluate a set of resources on a given topic to demonstrate their ability to find, and critically analyze online information. (see Bryan Alexander‘s take on video assignments here: https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=bryan+alexander+video+assignments

+++++++++++
more on online learning in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=online+learning

more on proctoring in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=proctor

10 Oculus Go apps

10 Oculus Go Virtual Reality Apps to Try in the Classroom

By Jaime Donally (Columnist)     Jan 4, 2019

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-04-10-oculus-go-virtual-reality-apps-to-try-in-the-classroom

Looking Glass (FREE)

Wonderful You (FREE)

MasterWorks: Journey Through History (FREE)

Gala360 See the World – Camp Fire in Paradise (FREE)

MEL Chemistry Labs (FREE)

Calcflow (FREE)

CoSpaces (FREE)

Anne Frank House VR (FREE)

AltSpace (FREE)

Concerns to Consider

nausea
full shutdown of the device is somewhat tricky and can drain your battery quickly
Oculus is releasing their upcoming device, called the Quest

 

1 2 3 4