Integration of open educational resources in undergraduate chemistry teaching – a mapping tool and lecturers' considerations

Abstract

This study examines chemistry lecturers' considerations for using open educational resources (OER) in their teaching. Recent technological developments provide innovative approaches for teaching chemistry and visualizing chemical phenomena. End users' improved ability to upload information online enables integration of various pedagogical models and learning theories. These improvements strengthen the need for up-to-date evaluation tools for educational websites. Building on existing taxonomies, a set of new criteria for the evaluation of online learning materials was developed and used to analyze 100 websites directed towards teaching chemistry. In addition, a questionnaire was circulated among 100 chemistry lecturers from various higher education institutions in Israel, 66 of whom responded. Subsequently, interviews were conducted with 17 of the questionnaire respondents. Our findings demonstrate that most of the chemistry lecturers who were interviewed integrate innovative learning materials such as simulations, videos and exercises found online in their teaching, but do not use web 2.0 that enables content sharing and collaborative learning. With respect to the selection of web-based learning materials, we found that the lecturers interviewed tended to select OER intuitively, mainly considering the reliability of information, pedagogical issues and the visual contribution, while paying less attention to collaborative learning and content sharing.

Let Students Choose: Examining the Impact of Open Educational Resources on Performance in General Chemistry

“…In addition to textbooks, OERs include videos, interactive online tools, images, music, and online modules . Chemistry instructors choose which OERs to use intuitively, and mainly as a supplementary tool rather than a central resource for students . For chemistry, there are a variety of OERs available, such as open-source textbooks, online videos, and hyperlinked topic modules .…”

Technology in the Service of Pedagogy: Teaching with Chemistry Databases

“…The second branch that falls under the generic use of technology is related to the way students and teachers communicate beyond the traditional face‐to‐face classes. Several technological tools have been reported to intensify and enrich this communication, such as classroom communication systems (e. g., clickers, Web‐based classroom response systems), enhanced communication via Web 2.0 tools that allow students to contribute to the course content, and the use of social network sites (SNS) such as Facebook . The SNS provides a LMS platform as well as a platform that supports and even encourages discourse among the learners and between the lecturer and the learners.…”

“…The integration of technology into chemistry education covers many areas of today's ever‐changing technology: the use of clickers for instructing interactive learning during lessons; the use of a flipped classroom for developing an active learning environment, to increase engagement and to allow time for developing a deeper understanding of the discipline; the use of a synchronous and asynchronous streaming video either during the lesson or before it, e. g., a laboratory preparatory exercise . More specific uses for chemistry education are computer simulations, molecular visualization tools, and retrieving information from chemical databases as well as other open‐source tools . To make order in this increasing forest of technology used in chemistry education, we present in Figure an organizing scheme of available technologies that can enrich chemistry education.…”

CHIMACTIV: An Open-Access Website for Student-Centered Learning in Analytical Chemistry

“…Digital media offer great potential in chemistry education, particularly as they enable visualization and dynamic representations, but these tools should be embedded in a purposefully designed learning environment . Several open digital educational resources already exist, such as the Chemical Education Digital Library . In the specific field of analytical chemistry, the Analytical Science Digital Library offers open resources that have been peer reviewed for content and effectiveness .…”