Palm Computer Applications for High School Chemistry

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Palm Computer ApplicationsforHigh School
Chemistry

• Kent Crippen
• Nevada Technology Leadership Conference
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• April 13, 2002

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Handheld Computers as Teaching/Learning Tools

• 96.5 of the teachers believed handheld computers
  were an effective instructional tool.
• 93.0 of the teachers believed handheld computers
  contributed to the quality of the learning
  activities of their students.
• Palm Education Partners Program, March 2002
  Evaluation Report, SRI International
  (www.palmgrants.sri.com)

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Handheld Computers as Teaching/Learning Tools

• Primary Benefits
• Portability and ease of access
• Integration of computing into a wide variety of
  educational activities
• Promoting autonomous learning and students
  organization
• Promoting student motivation
• Promoting student collaboration and communication
  (via infrared beaming)
• Supporting inquiry-based instructional activities

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Outline of Presentation

• Project Description
• Project Goals
• Primary Research Questions
• Laboratory Notebooks
• CHEMiCALC Explained
• Results of Pilot Studies
• Future Needs
• Conclusions

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I. Project Description

• 32-Palm IIIc personal digital assistants for use
  in 3-high school chemistry classes.
• A compliment of CHEMiCALC software licenses were
  supplied by creator Bert Ramsey.

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II. Project Goals

• Investigate the potential for Palm devices as
  electronic laboratory notebooks in an inquiry
  setting.
• Investigate CHEMiCALC as a learning aid for
  learning chemical stoichiometry.

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III. Primary Research Questions

• How can Palm computers be used to facilitate the
  collaborative process in design, participation,
  and documentation of chemistry laboratory work.
• What techniques for using CHEMiCALC improve
  student problem solving for chemical
  stoichiometry?
• Generate worked examples
• Checking tool
• Tutor-Palm homework documents

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IV. Palm computers as laboratory notebooks

• Pieces of the puzzle philosophy.
• Students collect data independently
• Data is exchanged electronically via IR.
• Data is analyzed collaboratively.
• Results/conclusions are constructed
  independently.
• Discussion/documentation is produced and provided
  electronically via IR.
• New experiments are designed and implemented
  collaboratively.

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V. CHEMiCALC - A chemical calculator.

• Chemical Formula Stoichiometry
• Balancing Chemical Equations
• Mass/Mole Stoichiometry
• (Limiting Reagent)
• Solution Stoichiometry

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Chemical Periodicity with CHEMiCALC
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Chemical Formula Analysis with CHEMiCALC
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Balancing Chemical Equationswith CHEMiCALC
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CHEMiCALC-Stoichiometric Spreadsheet
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CHEMiCALC-Stoichiometric Calculations
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VI. Preliminary Evaluations

• Palm w/CHEMiCALC helped students
• Learn about elements and periodic trends.
• Find molar masses.
• To write and balance chemical equations.
• Learn how to set up and solve stoichiometry
  problems.
• Gain confidence in their calculation ability by
  immediate feedback.
• Save time and reduce errors.
• No difference in test performance found between
  Palm- and non-Palm users.
• Stoichiometry test (2/3 calculation, 1/3 concept)

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VI. Preliminary Evaluations

• - Needs -
• Improved data entry for text.
• Stoichiometric conversions of moles to
• Gas volumes
• Particles
• Gas Law Calculator
• Unit conversions
• Problem Solving Work Pad
• Writing out the setup

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VII. The Problem Solving WorkPadCorrected setup
after ratio inversion
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VIII. Conclusions

• The use of the Palm as a laboratory notebook
• Improves collaboration.
• Improves motivation.
• Increases time on task.
• Provides potential for new format of laboratory
  work.
• The use of CHEMiCALC by students
• Saves time
• Reduces errors
• Student has more time to think about problem.

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Acknowledgements

• Palm Education Pioneers Grant Program
• Bert Ramsey-Chemicalc
• Collaborators
• Bob Curtright, Lincoln Northeast High School
• Jeff Hansen, Lincoln Northeast High School
• David Brooks, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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Communication

• Kent Crippen
• Assistant Professor of Educational Computing
• University of Nevada Las Vegas
• http//crippen.nevada.edu
• E-Mail kcrippen_at_unlv.edu