General Chemistry Gets More Interactive with Tablet and Mastering Chemistry

“Blackboards are hard to see, PowerPoint doesn’t interest the students enough, and SMART boards are too sensitive,” says Dr. Hongshan He, an assistant professor and general chemistry instructor. General education courses are pretty large, ranging from 45-60 students per class; so how does he get students involved? Dr. He has found several new ways to make his course more interactive.

Dr. He writing on tablet

Dr. He was able to obtain a Redden grant, which he used to purchase a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. He writes directly on this tablet during lectures with an electronic pen, which goes straight onto the projector screen so his class can see. Students can also practice problems on the Surface Pro 3 and others can see their work. Dr. He says: “Calculations and drawings are hard to type out and draw on PowerPoint, but the tablet makes it much easier because you can write it all out.” He has received positive feedback from students and other teachers who have sat in on lectures.

“Our students come from all different backgrounds. A lot of them work and can’t always make it to class,” stated He. If they miss a lecture, it is hard for them to do well on upcoming homework and exams, but what if they could view the lectures on their own time? During Dr. He’s lectures, PowerPoint automatically records anything he writes on the slides. So besides posting the lecture notes on D2L, Dr. He can upload the problem solving processes he went through -- as well as the lecture itself -- by using video software called Camtasia. Students can access the videos on their laptops or even cell phones once they log into their D2L account. Students can’t always come back to school in the evenings for review sessions, so instead of hosting them, He can post a video of how to solve a particular problem. The videos also provide more opportunities for extra help outside of class.

The chemistry department uses an online homework assignment system called Mastering Chemistry. This system is through Pearson, the company that provides the textbooks. Using Mastering Chemistry is nothing new, but a tool called Learning Catalytics is. Students can login to Mastering Chemistry to access Learning Catalytics and answer in-class practice questions on their smartphones. Students are always trying to use their cellphones in class; instead of preventing it, Dr. He decided to let them use it for class purposes. He can also record attendance by asking his students to answer a question through this new tool. The responses automatically sync to Mastering Chemistry and the students can earn bonus points by attending the lecture. This helps with minimizing the distractions during class so students can concentrate.

Dr. He is trying out all these new technologies in his general chemistry courses, but hopes to expand them into others once he knows how well they are working. These technologies make the learning process more personal, convenient, and efficient for both teachers and students. Dr. He is hoping that in the future the university can provide funds for all faculty members to get their own tablets to use in different departments, such as math and

biology.

For more information contact Dr. Hongshan He via email: hhe@eiu.edu.