Date and Time: November 22 (Monday) 1999: 13:30--
/ Introduction / Abstracts / On-line Session /
APPLICATION OF WEB-BASED DATABASE
TO CHEMICAL EDUCATION
Prof. Hsin-Tien Chiu (National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan)
VIRTUAL CHEMICAL EDUCATION * AGENT
ORIENTED GLOBAL EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR CHEMISTRY
Dr. Hiroshi Yosihda (Hiroshima University, Japan)
DESIGNING AN INTERACTIVE INTERNET-CENTERED
COURSE IN ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY: A MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Prof. Robert F. Toia (University of San Francisco, U.S.A.)
INTERACTIVE USE OF THE INTERNET. THE
CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
Prof. Charles Fogliani (Charles Sturt University, Australia)
With the increasing popularity of Internet usage, students
around the world can access chemistry educational materials on
World Wide Web easily. Excellent multimedia materials provide
interactive learning experience to students. 3D molecular structural
information and complex reaction pathways, with the assistance
of plug-in programs such as MDL Chime and Macromedia Flash, can
be displayed interactively to students at remote locations. Database
is essential for the organization of a large amount of information.
Using web-based interface, managing and accessing a database becomes
an easy task. Procedures to establish a 3D molecular structure
database and a chemistry problem set database will be discussed
and demonstrated as examples.
Materials
for On-line Session
Send your queries and comments to: itomasa@t.soka.ac.jp
The recent evolution of the World Wide Web (WWW) has introduced new Internet-based learning and teaching materials for chemical education. Such rapid change in the Internet makes us to expect the innovation of the traditional style in education. The geographical restriction is no longer a serious problem, and hence, teachers and students far apart from one another can communicate without difficulty. In addition to this effectiveness, a lot of fascinating teaching and learning materials on the WWW also arouse our interest in chemistry.
Such materials have been already accumulated on the Internet as (1) Hypertext Teaching and Learning Materials described in HTML, (2) Multimedia Teaching and Learning Materials by using the MPEG movies and so on, (3) Interactive Teaching and Learning Materials by using the CGI and Java techniques, and (4) Virtual Reality 3D Graphics Teaching and Learning Materials written in VRML.
In addition to the above traditional resources on the Internet, I would like to propose new paradigm for chemical education in the virtual society as given below to realize the project Virtual Chemical Education,1) which has been proposed by Prof. Takeuchi at the meeting of the CTC during the 39th IUPAC General Assembly in 1997.
(1) Authenticated Network Distributed Computing Resources for
Chemistry
The evolution of the WWW from a model allowing only the public
and open exchange of information enables us to obtain many resources
from the Internet. Although such features of the WWW are very
important, secure interactive client-server processes must be
also considered for accumulating reliable and personal information.
In this conference, I will introduce molecular modeling and graphics
program Molda,2) which is an example of the authenticated system
using digital object signing and runs on the Internet as a secure
signed Java Applet.
(2) Agent Oriented Global Cyber Communication Space
Online classrooms on the Internet should be used with a lot of
visual aids and interactive communication tools. Automated teachers
in the virtual classrooms can be also designed by artificial intelligence
and agent oriented technologies. Distributed agents, such as (human
or automated) teachers, students and learning and teaching materials,
will be properly located on the Internet in order to act in harmony
with one another. Such new education system in the virtual society
will come true in the near future.
Y. Takeuchi, H. Hosoya, M. M. Ito and H. Yoshida, 15-ICCE,
Cairo (1998);
Y. Takeuchi, H. Hosoya, H. Yoshida and M. M. Ito, Pure Apple.
Chem., in press.
H. Yoshida, H. S. Rzepa, A. P. Tonge, J. Mol. Graph. Mod., in
press;
H. Yoshida, Molecular Modeling on Computers*, Science House, Tokyo
(1999);
MOLDA Home Page, http://cssj.chem.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/molda/
Send your queries and comments to: itomasa@t.soka.ac.jp
Most of us who have studied in the traditional university lecture/laboratory based system can recall particular professors whose teaching methods and whose personalities not only gave the subject a certain character but also inspired interest in learning. For some, these considerations were also significant factors in the decision to make chemistry a career pursuit. In addition, the peer interactions which occur naturally in lecture, seminar and tutorial meetings, and especially in laboratory classes are, for many, also a crucial part of the learning process. And in the reverse sense these interactions, especially for small classes, allow faculty to have a better perspective on a student's overall academic abilities. A fundamental question, therefore, is how to incorporate these elements into a distance learning course such that degree programs which include these types of courses are judged equivalent to their traditionally-delivered counterparts.
One option in designing a distance learning course is to see a portion of it as being internet-driven, as opposed to the internet providing the sole approach. Thus, it is logical to use the internet for things that it can currently do well without pushing the technological edge. Thus, assuming that the course material is provided "on-line" in a sophisticated way, some of the interactive aspects from a regular class-room setting may be provided by chat rooms and bulletin boards. However, moving away from the interent, other possibilities should also be considered. For example, if geographical considerations allow for it, bringing the class together at the beginning and perhaps towards the end of the course could allow for initial interactions, and for group projects to be established with a view to later live presentations to the class as a whole after completion. In addition, tutored-video presentations offer further possibilities. With regard to laboratory work, some experiments might successfully be simulated via the internet, but this will not allow for the acquisition of actual laboratory skills. Thus, the feasibility of satellite laboratories with supporting instructors should also be considered.
Thus, in keeping with the above theme, this talk will focus on recen initiatives in the design and delivery of a distance learning program from the Department of Environmental Science at the University of San Francisco.
Send your queries and comments to: itomasa@t.soka.ac.jp
Charles Sturt University is the largest provider of distance education in Australia. From the beginning of 1999 all distance education subjects offered by the university are offered in supported online mode. A supported online subject is one in which the following services are available to students:
Online access through the Charles Sturt University subject
template to a ring of administrative and support services including
student records, the library and student services.
E-mail communication between the student and staff member.
A subject specific discussion system using a listserve or web
forum.
The listserve has the advantage of immediate communication * all students get the same message delivered to their personal e-mail box. Messages to the forum require the students to make the effort to log in and go to the forum. The forum is useful for 'connected conversations* where people can be involved in the flow and direction of discussions.
Advantages of using a forum include:
It can reduce the isolation of the distance education learner;
Interaction among students and between the lecturer and students
is facilitated;
Life experiences and work-based activities related to the subject
can be discussed, enhancing the formal content of the subject.
Through monitoring and posting to the forum, the lecturer will develop a better understanding of the needs and lives of his/her students.
A second Charles Sturt University initiative is to the New South Wales Higher School Certificate online which is an information network that services the Higher School Certificate needs of students, teachers, schools and subject associations. Information about the Higher School Certificate Chemistry Course will be presented.
Finally I would like to discuss briefly the Australian National Chemistry Quiz which I organise and is run in sixteen (16) countries. This year there were 103,760 entries in the Quiz. Schools can obtain information and entry forms from the Internet and also detailed reports of previous years' entries and winners of certificate of excellence. The aims of the Quiz are to promote and encourage an awareness of the nature and relevance of chemistry amongst secondary school students.
Experience at Charles Sturt University indicates that for the Internet to an effective education tool it must be interactive rather than static.
Send your queries and comments to: itomasa@t.soka.ac.jp
The Panel Discussion "Internet and
Chemistry"
supported by the Asian-Pacific Chemical
Education Network (ACEN)
in the 8ACC Special
Symposium on Chemical Education