Principal Invesigator: Brent A. Eldridge
Colleauges: Tracy Knowles, Austin Woolfolk, Kristan Lenning, Chad Mueller and Instructional Specialist Rae Ann Gil
Courses Impacted to date: General College Chemistry Laboratories I and II, General College Chemistry I and II
Approximate number of student impacted: 200
Project Abstract: The HP Technology for Teaching grant has given Bluegrass Community and Technical College the ability to offer access to high quality mobile technology and to gain immediacy in collection, analysis and sharing of data. The General Chemistry Lab courses have begun using mobile tablet PC technology to perform experiments where data is collected in real-time, students assist each other in analysis of data and results are shared. The use of mobile technology has allowed the chemistry faculty and students to move the laboratory outside the walls of the institution making our chemistry courses less abstract and more meaningful.
The use of mobile technology has allowed students to develop a thorough understanding of a concept without being hamstrung by the lack of equipment. Faculty are developing new methods of technology integration and curriculum development. Lab experiments are being converted to use mobile technology. The expectation of the chemistry department is to become a more student-centered learning environment. The program goals of the department will be evaluated by documenting the conversion of lab experiments and specific lab applications using mobile technology and identifying student’s attitudes towards the merit and worth of mobile technology through pre- and post testing. With refinement of implementation and reflection on the impact of the use of mobile technology, the hope is that this technology will gain acceptance and prove useful beyond the laboratory.
Using HP technology, our General Chemistry courses are undergoing a change from a teacher-centered educational orientation to a student-centered one. Students are communicating more frequently with one another before asking for assistance from the instructor.
The greatest impact to date is allowing students to collect water samples outside the laboratory which creates an autonomous community of learners who rely on one another to collect a water sample, record the coordinates using GPS software of where the sample was taken, and analyze the sample once back inside the laboratory.