Delivering Chemistry Tutorials using the Web

[Paul May]

Hi,

> 
> Very impressed with the scope TML allows.  Its structured 
> format would allow easy generation of source, all be it with 
> a fair amount of typing.

Our ETS Dept are working on that too.  Hopefully there should be a version
of their CalScribe software (based on MS Toolbook), which can prompt the
Question-setter with questions such as: 'Please type text of question', 'Please
type correct answer', Please type 1st incorrect answer', etc.  That way the
question-setter needn't have to know much about the mechanics of TML at all,
the program formats the whole tutorial for him.  CalScribe does this already to
a certain extent, but soon it'll be able to export the finished tutorial as
a TML file.  Watch this space...

> But would its primary role be to assess or to instruct.  ie. 
> should wrong answers yield an informative response.   If the 
> instructional element is missing then its appeal to users 
> would be low and probably only for required testing.  If an 
> instructional role is expected then I think users  will be 
> put of by the thought of logged scoring.

Both, but not at the same time, for the reasons mentioned above.  It can be
used as a teaching aid, with *very* detailed questions and answers,
including large images, multiple pages of text, and hopefully rotatable 
molecules, etc, but this requires a lot of initial input from the question-
setter who has to write it all!
Alternatively it can be used as a quick and easy assessment method, where
the scores are password protected for each student, and logged.

> 
> Password access would also greatly reduce the number of users 
> and really might well restrict it to the realms of LAN based 
> CAL packages.
> 
> 

Each student gives himself his own password, so we know it's him each time
he uses the system for different tutorials.


> > >	I've just written an example tutorial in TML using Chemistry-based
> > > questions and it's now on-line on our ETS server at:
> > 
> > 	http://www.ets.bris.ac.uk/ets/resource/tutorial/tutorial.htm
> 
> A nice demonstration.  Even though the original demo illustrated 
> the styles available having, the material in context shows the 
> potential more.

Glad you liked it.  It took me about 7 hours in total.

> I didnt realise toluene would nitrate in the meta position.

Neither did I till I looked it up! (I'm a Physical Chemist).  But apparently
it nitrates at all 3 positions in the ratio of about ortho=35% meta=5%
para=60%  (or something like that...)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Paul May, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, UK
tel: +44 (0)117 9287667, fax: +44 (0)117 9251295
email: paul.may at bris.ac.uk
WWW: http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Chemistry/staff/pwm.htm
"Another squashed hedgehog in the gutter of the information superhighway"
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