Time and What to Do
Subject: How much time
At 19:38 6/2/97 -0400, Mary L. Swift wrote:
>How much time is required to prepare materials for one lecture?
This varies widely. A simple lecture (locate a couple animations, develop an outline, and create a
couple links) might take an hour. A complex lecture (generating images, finding resources, trying
out a new format) may be several day's (or a week's) work. For these larger projects (like the
visualizing molecules lectures), It usually takes an afternoon to work out the "concept" and get a
start on the content. Then additional time is to fine tune the format and work out all the content.
I will not pretend that this all happens overnight. It is possible to sink any amount of time into
development. But there is no need to do it all at once. Start with the part you believe will have
the greatest impact.
>one homework assignment?
I developed most of these last summer. Writing the questions does not take much longer than it
would on a word processor. I write the first draft in WordPerfect, save it as HTML. Then I fine
tune the results with an HTML editor. If you want to add more complex formatting or graphics it
takes longer. Homework solution sets typically take an afternoon. Many of them are acrobat
documents since it is easier to generate complex formatting and equations this way. I hope that
the time I invested last summer will pay off in the long term. I learned a lot working through all
this, and now I can easily make revisions.
>How do you select topics for this treatment? Is it based solely on the
>chemistry or your experience with "what students find difficult"?
The decision usually comes down to an idea. Not unlike having an idea for a demo to use in class.
When I am planning my lectures, If I think "Oh, I could do X and that would be a great way to
explain this topic" and I have enough time, I try it. An important part of this is the technology
available. For example, after noticing that students have a difficult time visualizing the three
dimensional structure of a molecule, when I saw what rasmol could do I had and idea. I do
spend a fair amount of time learning what is available and looking for ideas (trying out demo
software, looking at the flyers that publishers send, and looking at web sites). On-line discussions
like chemconf and chemed-l have been very useful for me.
I am still kind of wet behind the ears as a teacher, but I am starting to develop a sense for what
topics are difficult. This should help me focus my efforts in the future.
Subject: Animation Sources.
At 22:52 6/2/97 -0400, Diane Krone wrote:
>Where do you find your sources for animations and quicktime movies? I see
>the search and review of material as being very time consuming.
I use the Saunders Interactive General Chemistry CD-ROM on a regular basis. I also find
resources on the web, usually by stumbling across them.
Subject: Time
At 11:31 6/3/97 -0600, Margaret Asirvatham wrote:
>Science courses, especially chemistry and physics, require a lot of drill
>and practice for success. Are you providing this experience with a
>reasonable time investment by your students?
This is an excellent question. What I have observed, is that students are surprisingly selective.
They work very hard to find and use the resources that they believe are valuable. They are not
always successful in making this distinction (for example; I am always amazed that students will
stand in the hall for two hours copying an old exam in a display case).
I have found that posting solutions to problems from class and homework is very useful. I can
control the timing so they need to start with an honest effort. But they seem willing to try more
challenging problems if they know that I will post a very through solution to the problem. It
seems to reduce the frustration, and students frequently come in to ask questions about the
solutions.
Subject: multimedia vs traditional
At 10:54 6/2/97 -0500, Gerald Morine wrote:
>2. In the Introduction, the author writes that
>multimedia "needs to do more than traditional
>presentations." Some parts of Dr. Van Bramer's
>materials could be done equally well on paper
>and/or using an overhead projector. Since
>preparing web materials is time consuming, should
>a web-site be restricted to only those items that
>are "value-added"? I.e., where the computer does
>something extra?
I still use the blackboard extensively. The things I try to consider to decide how to present
something is if using multimedia presents some type of "value added" during the lecture and if it
will be useful for students to have access to the multimedia material outside of lecture. And part
of it is a hope that some of these resources will be useful to students and faculty at other schools.
Based upon my student's response, comments I receive from students at other schools, and
comments from other teachers and faculty it has been a worthwhile effort for me. Although this
is a question everyone must answer for themselves, as long as I enjoy this (because it is
interesting, challenging, and rewarding) I'll do it. This balance will be different for every faculty
member and every class. The bottom line is that you will have to use your professional
judgement to decide the answer to this question. What I hope to do with this presentation, is to
highlight some things I have tried and thought were successful, to share some ideas.
Subject: Multimedia vs Traditional
At 16:04 6/2/97 -0500, Lynn Carlson wrote:
>2. I feel that many topics taught in chemistry, especially those that
>show dynamic relationships, can be taught exceptionally well with some
>of the applications you describe. However, what evidence is there in your
>classes, or from anyone else's reading
>this, that the learning taking place with the technology used is "better"
>or "more effective" or more complete that the same learning presented in
>more traditional, low-tech ways? Please understand, I believe this
>to be true, but I wonder if anyone has any hard evidence on the matter.
Although this is a good question, I don't think I can answer it. This is very similar to a recurring
thread on chemed-l. I do not expect to see some miraculous change in my student's learning. I
am just trying to find the best ways I can to effectively communicate with my students and to help
them learn chemistry. Using multimedia is a piece of the puzzle, just like using a demo. I think
one of the advantages to doing this on the web is that students have greater access.
What I can tell you is that most students "liked" it. They responded very well to it. They used
this as a resource to study. There are enough different learning styles, that I am trying to add
another tool to help them learn.
Subject: Time
At 14:51 6/4/97 -0400,Linda Sweeting wrote:
>I have been working on putting organic chemistry on the web. You have
>inspired me to be more courageous. But - where do you find the time???
>The lecture outlines look straightforward but assembling all the other
>stuff is much more time-consuming than preparing lecture notes. also, I
>have a tendency to get so involved in the technology that I forget
>what it was I was teaching!!! I guess it will just take time.
Yes it certainly does take time. Start with an idea, and go from there. Don't try to do it all at
once. And listen to your students, if you do something that works they'll tell you. If you do
something that does not work, they will ignore it. Listen for the silence. I find the time because I
enjoy it and find it challenging. It is my hobby (when I am not sailing).
Subject: Development
At 03:57 6/3/97 -0400, Mike Epstein wrote:
>1 - You note that you used this approach for the past year. What have you
>done in previous years? How long did it take to put all the material
>together? I would suspect that this is the culmination of years of trial and error.
I started developing these ideas during the spring '96 semester (The same time Netscape was
installed in the campus computer labs). Before that I used anonymous FTP and e-mail to
distribute resources to students. The web made this much easier for the students and allows me
to do much more. Most of this material was developed over the past three years. As I learn
about how to do it, it gets easier.
At 13:50 6/2/97 EDT, Terrell Wilson wrote:
>Is it worth it?
For me and my students, yes.
For you and your students, is a question you will have to answer. Hopefully this paper has given you some ideas. Try it out and see how it works.
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