Changes, Updates, Improvements

Ryan and I met today to work out some kinks with the site.  One thing that has been bothering both of us since the beginning is the page interface.  We decided to scrap the main page and create individual pages for each unit.  This will hopefully solve the issue we were having with the amount of material appearing overwhelming.  We will break materials down by unit and create a page for each topic including discussion forums and whiteboarding questions.  


This endeavor is proving to be more work than I anticipated.  I wish things were moving more quickly, but I would rather things be done right than done fast.  Our goal is to have one unit completed before the June modeling workshop.  


Improvements made May 15, 2012:

• Decision to move curriculum materials to individual unit pages
• Creation of teachertube.com account to house videos of demos
• Sharing NHS whiteboarding document

Ideas to consider 

• Taking the community to a social network - eventually
• ChemClub members creating the films of demos to house on teachertube
• Creating an entire page devoted to integrating technology in the curriculum
• Exploring mybrainshark.com as a podcasting tool

Does it solve a problem?

I recently attended the "The State of Tech" podcast Episode 16, "Technology in Science".  The podcast is hosted by:

• Sean Beavers - sean@soita.org
• Eric Curts - www.ericcurts.com
• Eric Griffith - eric.s.griffith@gmail.com

I would suggest adding each of them on google+.  They post great resources and news in the world of educational technology.  

One idea from this podcast I keep coming back to is, "Does it solve a problem?" One of the guests on the podcast poses this question when discussing whether or not to implement a new piece new technology in the classroom.  I know I get overwhelmed when I look at the number of really cool or fun tech things available and I don't know where to start when evaluating them.  He suggests approaching it by identifying a problem or an aspect of your class which could use some improvement - then searching for the technology to remedy the issue.  

There are MANY links to useful science tech sites listed in the program notes.  My favorite has been the pHet site out of UC Boulder.  This is a resource we utilize in the modeling curriculum in several different units.  There are so many good ideas on this site I will devote a future entry to it.  

Molecular Workbench

If you are using the Modeling Curriculum in your classroom you may recognize the following message recently posted by Larry Dukerich on the listserve.

"I've visited the Concord Consortium site off and on in the past and found simulations of variable quality. But when I went there most recently,http://mw.concord.org/modeler/index.html - , I downloaded Molecular Workbench and from the Showcase screen, chose What determines a phase from States of Matter. This gave me a simulation that reminded me of an old simulation software program I liked called Atoms in Motion.  In this newer MW simulation you see a cluster of bound atoms in a box that you can view from a variety of angles. You can run the simulation under a variety of conditions because you can vary the interatomic attraction, atomic radius, atomic mass and temperature. I would think this could be very useful in Unit 2.
There are a variety of other simulations at the MW site, including one that shows electron clouds in covalent bonding and temperature and kinetic energy. I can't say the little lessons that accompany the simulations are all wonderful. but the visualization that the simulations provide can sure be helpful."

I recently visited the link to Molecular Workbench and downloaded the free software.  There are many simulations available over a variety of topics including:

Gas Laws
Fluid Mechanics
Properties of Materials
States of Matter
Phase Change
Heat Transfer
Chemical Bonding
Chemical Reactions
Structure-Function Relationships
The Genetic Code
Protein Synthesis
Light-Matter Interactions
Electron-Matter Interactions
Quantum Phenomena

Once you download the software click on the link "browse entire library" and you will see a list of all the simulations categorized by discipline.  I think States of Matter shows a lot of potential for the modeling curriculum.  Under the Physics category you will see a gas laws section.  I believe this one also shows promise.  In the coming weeks I will try and provide additional detail for specific simulations.

As I collect more and more of these web based activities/simulations I wonder if we need a separate page or at least topic in the moodle outline to house these resources.  

Chrome App Review: "Element"

I have started to experiment more and more with the google set of products, and I'm looking for new technology to bring to my classroom. My browser of choice has been Google Chrome for several years, but I have never really utilized it to its potential.

I decided to start exploring the chrome apps and extensions. There are several periodic table apps available in the chrome store, the one I chose to start with was "Element" from Tildev.

Here is a brief list of the features

• Auto-scaling periodic table to take advantage of the space of your browser window
• Fully searchable with real-time highlighting of matched elements 
• Very quickly navigable with keyboard shortcuts for common actions 
• Trend highlighting for all properties of elements with color-weighted trends
• Visual orbital-filling representation
• Quick links to Wikipedia for further element information
• High contrast mode for increased readability 
• Entirely offline: no analytics,no phoning home, no ads, loads quickly, and it's not just a portal to a web site

My favorite feature is the electron orbital notation. This clearly shows the electron placement for the exceptions like Copper and Chromium and the arrangement of the electrons in the f block. You can easily see why elements like Copper and Chromium have an unexpected arrangement of electrons because you see the completely drawn half and full shell arrangements. 

You can download the app at:

Element Chrome App

In the Beginning

I've been debating starting this blog for several months now.  I don't know why it's been such an issue for me since I know I'll be the only one reading it.  I finally decided I just need to commit these ideas to words and sentences.  


First of all www.indianachemmod.com is coming along.  S-l-o-w-l-y.  The more I work on the site the more ideas I have and the more overwhelming it becomes.  As of today, we have the goals for each unit up.  The first unit has all the files linked and discussion forums have been created.  We still need to tweak the interface a bit.  I need to become more comfortable with Moodle 2.0+ as I only use 1.9+ at school. 

Cory has been working on the logo for the site.  It's not quite finished, as he is a perfectionist and keeps tweaking it.  

Speaking of perfectionists - I need to look into how to modify and upload themes to blogger, upload fonts, and link this blog to the chemmod website.  Hmmm, that should be an interesting adventure.


I'm currently winding down my twelfth year of teaching.  I'm wrapping up the second year in the modeling curriculum with a unit on Acids and Bases and Periodicity.  The Acid/Base unit will be a challenge since it isn't available on the ASU website and I only  have the materials made available during the workshop last summer.  I'm adding on to some activities Bill T. and Laura S. use in their classrooms.  It will be more time intensive than the other units since I don't have good teacher notes to work from.  I feel I should be concluding my advanced class as well, because the national AP exam is May 8, but I'm also teaching the class for Indiana University so I get the luxury of an additional month of instruction in that class.  I will be teaching transition metal chemistry for the first time in my career.  


Well, here's to finally digging into this endeavor.  Hopefully blogging will help me focus on improving my instructional model.  Even if I'm only talking to myself.