Advancing technology has opened many doors in education. It has been a long time since televisions and VCRs began being used in teaching. After something has been taught conventionally, teaching the topic visually adds a new level of understanding for the student. The next step in this direction would add interactivity to teaching. Not only would the student be able to see what is involved, but he or she would be able to learn from hands on experience. Using computers can be a very effective way of accomplishing this.
Computers can also be used to design and access supplemental references. These can be effectively used before a lab to increase familiarity with certain lab procedures. This has shown to be true in a experiment involving first-year chemistry students on an undergraduate level. In this study students with a weak background in chemistry (based on high school experience and grades) were compared to students with medium and strong backgrounds. The comparison involved a titration lab. Certain steps in the laboratory experiment deemed essential in acquiring accurate results were selected. The students were videotaped and analyzed individually. The number of these steps performed by all the students were noted.
Before the laboratory experiment the students with the weak background used a Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) tutorial. This tutorial explained the basic concepts of the titration and also showed the steps of the experiment visually using video. It then asked a series of questions about concepts in the experiment. Based on the results of these questions it was inferred that previous experience with titration was not a factor in the final score.
After using the CAL tutorial three quarters of the students said they felt that the tutorial had produced a significant increase in their understanding of titration. Some of the students were second-year students. They said that they felt the tutorial was an excellent review. In the end, the tutorial was found to be effective in teaching these laboratory skills to inexperienced users.
Computers have begun to show up in classrooms recently, as they have become cheaper, more powerful, and easier to use. There have been many software titles written as well for the purpose of education and for use in the classroom. Though no standards have been set as yet.
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