Location: NUL Forum Room

Shelby Hatch is Lecturer of Chemistry and Director of Northwestern’s Undergraduate General Chemistry Laboratory. Taylor Page, Chemistry graduate student and Shelby will present their current work with Google Apps in the laboratory.

During the course of a laboratory session, students typically collect and analyze their own data. Students collect data themselves, but since the class is so large, they are unable to see how their data compare to that of everyone else. We are developing a technological means to give context to student data in a laboratory experience and extend information beyond mere numbers to the quantification of reality. The tool facilitates statistical calculations to address students’ lack of experience. We have taken a novel approach to allow students access to data collected across the entire laboratory in real time.

We are utilizing Google Apps for the flexibility, transparency, and ease of use. All students have access to the data both inside and outside the laboratory. Assignments relating to statistical analysis of data, further graphing, etc. are then possible. This tool can ultimately be implemented as part of any quantitative lab.

It gives students an understanding of the variability of data and the necessity for repetition of procedures, the ability to describe and differentiate the precision and accuracy of the methods they use in a given lab, and an appreciation for their results in the context of other data.

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Related posts:

• Using Google Apps in the Classroom: New Opportunities for Collaborative Learning [VIDEO]
• Bboogle, Northwestern’s @u Google Apps integrated into CMS/Blackboard
• Using Google for Academic Research

Presenters covered the basics of TurningPoint, which allows you to poll and assess your entire class in seconds, with the results immediately appearing in your PowerPoint presentation.

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