To have an impact on learning, it is necessary to have instructional software which is complete
enough that it represents a major part of the course. However, the availability of
instructional software is not enough to make the transition from traditional class work to
new ways of learning easy and effective. It must also be easy for students to do their lessons
and receive credit for their work. While the number of students who arrive on campus with no
computer experience is decreasing, there are still students who are anxious about using
computers to learn chemistry. We must make it as easy as possible for them to focus on
the content of the lessons, and not on learning how to load computer programs. Other
courses at the college level are designed to do that.
All students, freshmen, sophomores and graduate students begin with the same initial menu for selecting activities. Students who learn to sign on their first semester use the same signon procedure for all subsequent chemistry courses that use lessons provided by this technology center. As shown in Figure 1, students can signon with their name and a unique identifier. No written instructions are provided or needed. A menu combined with instructions on the screen saves around 3000 sheets of printed paper instructions, and precludes continual verbal repetition of instructions. The menu program is flexible enough to allow new kinds of lessons to be added and old ones removed when needed.
A record keeping system must be available so that students can see that their scores have been recorded and they have received credit for their work. Most students are accustomed to receiving a piece of paper that they can keep on which the score is recorded. For students to be comfortable with on line grading of quizzes and homework there must be similar feedback available. Students need to verify that the computer has indeed given them the score they deserve. Figure 2 shows a screen from the online gradebook that accompanies each chemistry course so that students can see all their scores in the course, and how their scores compare with those of other students.
In addition to activities that require students to signon with a name and password, several activities require no identification. Students can Browse lessons, that is, use them while not receiving credit, which many do as review for exams. Students can use a set of programs entitled Chemists' Toolbox, or they can access chemistry coursework on the Internet using the Netscape browser.