Using Handheld Computers in the Chemistry Classroom

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Using Handheld Computers in the Chemistry
Classroom
Charles R. Ward James H. Reeves Barbara P.
Heath Department of Chemistry University of North
Carolina at Wilmington
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History of Numina II SRS

• Multi-disciplinary team has been working together
  on technology projects since 1990.

chemistry
computerscience
physics
scienceeducation
mathematics

• Funding obtained in 1999 to explore the use of
  handheld computer technology for teaching science
  and mathematics.

• Work begins on Student Response System.

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History of Numina II Project

• Initial work done with handheld computers
  (1999-2001)

• Wireless networks installed (1999)

• Focus shifted to Pocket PCs (2001-present)

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Numina II Project

• Is it possible to do serious college-level work
  on a Pocket PC?
• What additional hardware and software are needed
  to make the PPC a viable option for students and
  faculty?

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Pocket PC Hardware

• Intel StrongArm CPU (206 MHz)
• 64 MB RAM
• 240 x 360 reflective TFT colordisplay
• Compact Flash expansionslot
• 14-hour Li-ion battery
• Pocket PC 2002 OS
• MS Pocket Office suite
• Internet Explorer

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Pocket PC Hardware

• Pocket PCs are distributed to students in class
• PPCs are stored on charging carts

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MS Pocket Word

• Reads and writes standard MSWord (.doc)
  documents
• Will read and display sub/super-scripts but will
  not create them
• No support for tables

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MS Pocket Excel

• Reads and writes standard MSExcel (.xls)
  documents
• Does not support graphing
• Will not allow non-contiguouscolumn selection
• No statistical routines

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MS Pocket Internet Explorer

• Supports standard HTML
• Supports JPEG and GIF
• Supports embedded Media Player
• Supports Flash MX (V. 6)
• No animated GIF support
• Limited JavaScript support
• Very limited Java support

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eBook Chemistry Textbook

• BLB text from Prentice-Hall
• Supplied in HTML format
• Text delivered over the Web
• Fully editable

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MS Pocket Media Player

• Supports WMF audio and video
• Supports MP3
• Supports streaming video
• Will embed in Pocket IE

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Adobe Acrobat Reader for PPC

• Supports most Acrobat Reader functions including
  thumbnails, table of contents
• Excellent graphics support
• PDF files are very large

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Pocket Hyperchem from Hypercube

• Pen-based interface
• MM and Semi-Empirical
• Build molecules
• Optimize geometries
• Explore properties of molecules

• View and rotate molecules
• Measure bond angles and bond lengths
• View molecules in different renderings

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RDCalc Graphing Calculator

• All of the graphing functions ofa TI graphing
  calculator
• Easier to use than a calculatordue to the
  pen-based interface
• Many additional functions useful in chemistry
  classes
• Periodic table
• Stop watch
• Constants
• Conversion factors

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GraphData

• Developed at UNCW by Dr. RussHerman
• Adds graphing capability to Pocket Excel
• Graphs can be pasted intoPocket Word

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Scotty FTP

• Graphical FTP client program
• Very easy to use
• Students use FTP to transfer filesto their
  instructor

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Data Harvest DATAQ System

• 12-bit DATAQ system with numerous probes
• Available as serial interface or as CF unit
• Software runs on HPC, PPC, and desktop computers

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Additional Cool Science Stuff
Audio Spectrum Analyzer
Global Positioning System
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Numina II Student Response System

• Interactive classroom questioning
• Completely Web-based system
• Student feedback is anonymous
• Data are available for later analysis

http//aa.uncwil.edu/numina/srs
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Numina II Student Response System
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Numina II Student Response System
Student Response Pad View
Multiple Choice
Yes / No
True / False
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Numina II Student Response System
Student Response Pad View
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 1
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 1 Showing Student Responses
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 1 Showing Student Responses
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 2
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 2 Showing Student Responses
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 3
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 3 Showing Student Responses
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 4
4. Congratulating a student with a pat on the
back or commenting on a students appearance
constitutes sexual harrassment.
True False
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Numina II Student Response System
Sample Question 4 Showing Student Responses
4. Congratulating a student with a pat on the
back or commenting on a students appearance
constitutes sexual harrassment.
True False
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Important Classroom Outcomes

• Student participation in question sessions is
  consistently near 100.
• Instructors gain immediate information regarding
  the extent to which students understand the
  concepts or procedures being presented.
• Instructors make informed decisions based on
  student data that impact the pace of class and
  the organization of concepts presented.
• Nearly 100 of participating students report that
  they prefer the SRS system to normal classroom
  questioning techniques.

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Important Classroom Outcomes

• Classroom discussion is increased and more
  widespread.

total discussion hits
number of studentsparticipating in discussion
Total Responses and Students
PPT
SRS
PPT
SRS
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Important Classroom Outcomes

• Students exhibit little off-task behavior when
  using Pocket PCs with the SRS system.

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Software Development for Numina II

• Molecular Animator (states of matter, vapor
  pressure, phase diagrams, etc.)
• Kinetics Simulator
• Equilibrium Simulator
• Data Analysis Module
• Data Acquisition Software Hardware

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Acknowledgements
Project Funding

• National Science Foundation (IIS-0002935)
• Pearson Education
• UNCW
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Division of Academic Affairs
• Information Technology Systems Division

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Acknowledgements
Current Collaborators

• Department of Chemistry
• Dr. Charles Ward
• Dr. Jimmy Reeves
• Dr. Barbara Heath
• Ms. Jenny Wright, Undergraduate
• Ms. Katy Magolan, Undergraduate

• Mathematics and Statistics / Physics
• Dr. Gabriel Lugo
• Dr. Russ Herman
• Computer Science
• Dr. Ron Vetter
• Mr. Shaun Border, Undergraduate

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