Web-based Interactive Organic Chemistry Homework

化学(12)基于网络的课程有可能改变教授科学的方式，但对于教师来说，投入采用这些课程所需的时间和资源，这样的课程必须比传统方法具有更大的教学价值。由英国肯塔基大学化学系和计算机科学系的教职员工和学生组成的团队开发了一个基于网络的交互式有机化学程序EPOCH。该软件在几个方面独一无二地有用。1.Epoch要求学生在回答以下问题时画出化学结构：“画出这个反应的产物(或起始物质)”、“画出产生这些光谱的化合物”、“画出这个结构的共振结构”、“画出这个名字的化合物”或“画出这个化合物的立体异构体”。绝大多数其他基于网络的作业程序需要文本、数字或多项选择输入。2.如果学生的回答不正确，Epech会提供反馈，解释为什么回答不正确，并提出建议，指导学生找到正确的答案。问题的作者决定学生反应的特征(特定功能基团的存在、骨架的缺失、立体中心的配置等)。应该会引出来自时代的反馈。时代从来不会告诉学生正确的答案；他们必须反复攻击这个问题，直到他们解决它。大多数基于网络的作业程序不提供针对特定错误定制的反馈。3.教员可以向纪元数据库添加新问题或修改现有问题，以适应自己的需要或纠正错误。在其他程序中，出版商通常会修复其基于Web的程序的内容，而不会为教师提供修改它的机制。EATCH的一个电流限制是它不接受代表电子流动(反应机制)的曲线箭头。在这个项目中，一个新版本的EERCH正在开发中，它允许学生解决诸如“为这个反应画出一个机制”之类的问题。对这类问题的回答由一系列化学结构和代表电子流动的弧形箭头组成。在增加了这项改进后，将对EPOCH的有效性进行评估。智力优势：该项目正在继续开发和评估一个为有机化学设计的基于网络的作业程序，该程序的功能比迄今开发的任何程序都要强大得多。广泛的影响：该项目正在为一门困难的课程创造一种独特的有价值的教学和学习工具，该课程可供不同学科的大量学生学习。与普伦蒂斯-霍尔的伙伴关系支持了EATCH的初步发展，使增强的EATCH方案得以广泛传播。

Chemistry (12) Web-based programs have the potential to change the way science is taught, but, for instructors to invest the time and resources required to adopt them, such programs must have greater pedagogical value than traditional methods. A web-based interactive organic chemistry program, EPOCH, has been developed by team of faculty and students in the departments of Chemistry and Computer Science at the University of Kentucky (UK). The software is uniquely useful in several ways. 1. EPOCH requires a student to draw a chemical structure in response to a question such as, "Draw the product (or starting material) of this reaction," "Draw the compound that gives rise to these spectra," "Draw a resonance structure of this structure," "Draw the compound with this name," or "Draw a stereoisomer of this compound." The vast majority of other Web-based homework programs require text, numerical, or multiple-choice input. 2. If a student's response is incorrect, EPOCH provides feedback that explains why the response is incorrect and makes suggestions to guide the student to the correct answer. The author of a question decides what characteristics of a student's response (the presence of a particular functional group, the absence of a skeleton, the configuration of a stereocenter, etc.) should elicit what feedback from EPOCH. EPOCH never tells students the correct answer; they must attack the problem repeatedly until they solve it. Most Web-based homework programs do not offer feedback that is customized to particular errors. 3. Instructors can add new questions to the EPOCH database or modify existing questions to suit their own needs or to correct errors. In other programs, publishers usually fix the content of their Web-based programs and do not provide a mechanism for instructors to modify it. One current limitation of EPOCH is that it does not accept curved arrows representing electron flow (reaction mechanisms). In this project, a new version of EPOCH is being developed that allows students to address questions such as "Draw a mechanism for this reaction." Responses to this question type consist of a sequence of chemical structures and curved arrows representing electron flow. An evaluation of the effectiveness of EPOCH will be carried out after this enhancement has been added. Intellectual merit: The project is continuing to develop and evaluate a Web-based homework program designed for organic chemistry that has far greater capabilities than any program heretofore developed.Broader impact: The project is creating a uniquely valuable teaching and learning tool for a difficult course that is taken by large numbers of students across a wide variety of disciplines. A partnership with Prentice-Hall, which supported the initial development of EPOCH, is permitting wide dissemination of the enhanced EPOCH program.