ARTICLES
Incorporating Digital and Creative Technologies within
Chemistry: Welcome to ChemSketch
By Jason Varoxis and Dr Col Harrison
Abstract
promote maximal student engagement levels (Ashman, 2015). To
achieve this, many teachers are incorporating a greater amount
of digital and creative technologies into their daily pedagogy,
with the ChemSketch program becoming increasingly popular.
Digital and creative technologies are used to bring interest and
relevance to the classroom by allowing students to interact with
learning materials in different ways. The complexity associated
with organic nomenclature and functional groups is such that
many students struggle to stay the course until they master the
rules and exceptions.
A look back at images of learning environments a century ago
reveals a plethora of teachers; those encountered as a student,
colleague, or mentor, that prefer to replicate this ancient
methodology. In contrast to almost any other profession, where
the inclusion of technology now represents the “norm” in these
workplaces, it can defy logic that some teachers still choose to
primarily use pens, pencils, papers, textbooks, or even expensive
molymod kits! My own personal experiences as a new teacher
have led to the discovery of the rationale of these actions to be
grounded in three areas: complacency, exhaustion, or fear.
In this paper, two educators at different stages in their careers
evaluate the use of ChemSketch as a digital and creative
technological tool for teaching structural formulae, naming
conventions and a whole lot more in the organic chemistry module
within the new HSC Chemistry course.
Introduction
It is fair to expect some level of this reality, given that the workload
and expectations upon teachers seem to be ever-increasing.
The thought of engaging in additional professional development,
upskilling technology skills, sometimes from a very low base,
modifying programs and lesson plans and ultimately changing
the way you educate others can be daunting. However, what if
students could achieve more, and there were specific tools and
strategies to peak their engagement levels?
The release of a new syllabus is often accompanied by a deep
breath and a reflection of experiences associated with its
predecessors. Nothing, yet everything, is new in education, and
Science is such a dynamic field anyway that change is inevitable.
The new Chemistry syllabus for New South Wales incorporates
many long-ignored (by secondary educators) organic chemistry
functional groups. Nomenclature challenges await, as do many
lively discussions particularly amongst those who have not the
budget for the $500 IUPAC ‘Blue Book’ (Favre & Powell, 2013).
One of the other challenges is the drawing of such a range of
organic molecules. Previous HSC markers have emphasised the
importance of the position of bonds in structural formulae, and
students do need practice. They also need a way of exposing
themselves to a broad range of 1 to 8 carbon chains with alkene,
alkyne, alkanol, alkanal, alkenone, alkanoic acid, amine, amide
and halo functional groups, with a little ester, soap and polymer
added too. One application which senior Chemistry teachers may
find useful is ChemSketch. Whilst perhaps its best asset is that it
is freeware, once you register it has great promise for both senior
chemists and senior biologists, and its efficacy will be reviewed
in this article.
For students to become functional, contributing and successful
members of society, teachers have a responsibility to ensure
a high standard of digital literacy is achieved (Howell, 2012).
Therefore, it is no surprise that the Australian Curriculum
recognises the need for students to achieve digital literacy to
meet the challenges of today’s world. My own life experiences as
a healthcare professional, business owner and novice teacher
support this, and I believe that if I had had access to a program
such as ChemSketch my learning experiences would have been
enriched.
The chemistry discipline can often spark fear within the hearts
of students, with many claiming a love or hate relationship with
the topic. Whilst some students “get it” straight away, many are
left confused, bemused and somewhat anxious following the
traditional delivery of chemistry lessons (cue the distribution of
textbooks with hundreds of vague problems, a far too enticing
“back of book” bank of answers, not always accurate, and the
didactic, teacher-driven lessons featuring a new and complex
language demonstrated on the board).
Perspective of a New Teacher
Three terms which frequent the discussions surrounding today’s
education landscape are 'diversity', 'inclusion', and 'engagement'
(Hyde, Carpenter, & Dole, 2017). As diversity continues to expand
within Australian classrooms, teachers are facing daily challenges
to ensure that their learning environments are inclusive and
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 3