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Article Excerpt
The World Wide Web is a promising medium for chemical education. The availability of huge chemical databases, of three-dimensional and dynamic graphics together with the computational power and the communicational features of the Web, offer exciting new ways to learn complicated chemical phenomena. However, to what extent do web authors in chemistry utilize these advanced tools? We developed a classification scheme, and examined 95 websites that teach atomic structure. The results show that advanced communication means and graphical tools are rarely used. While the content of the majority of websites can be considered reliable, their structure, level of graphics, and content resemble an online version of textbooks rather than constituting a new, interactive, learning environment. Nevertheless, we claim that the transition into web-based learning is only at its inception. We identify the potential of using the Web for chemical education and provide specific examples.
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Over the last few years, the Internet has become a promising new medium that allows people to communicate, work, trade, spend leisure time, as well as to learn. Four main characteristics of the Internet make it especially attractive for science education. These are its data storage abilities, its advanced graphics features, novel communication tools and its ever-growing computational power. Application of these tools has changed the way we deal with chemical information by creating opportunities to view molecular structures, simulate chemical processes and communicate with experts from the academy and industry. Such possibilities were not available before, and when utilized wisely, can give rise to exciting learning adventures (Kozma, 2000; Nakhleh, Donovan and Parrill, 2000).
Teachers, lecturers, and educators at all levels, world wide, are showing growing interest in Web-Based Learning (WBL). Lectures notes, homework assignments, online books, and complete courses in science topics such as chemistry, physics, and biology, together with interdisciplinary topics such as environmental engineering and others, can now be found on the Web (Berenfeld, 1996; Berge & Collins, 1998; Owston, 1997). Many websites provide instructions for the translation of courses to the Web (Judd, 1998). Moreover, many academic institutions have established special units that lead and support the translation of courses to the Web, aiming at student outreach (e.g., UCF Virtual Campus; Stanford Center for Professional Development).
Historically, each time a new technology emerged, this stirred up expectations for better educational results. Such a trend was evident with the arrival of the radio, the television and the personal computer. Thus, many researchers, educators and politicians now speculate whether the Internet will create a revolution in education. A quantitative research of educational websites needs to be performed. This paper surveys and evaluates the current usage of the World Wide Web for chemical education. In this context, several questions arise: to what extent do web authors in chemistry exploit the tools offered by the Web? What new pedagogical models do they apply? What characterizes the resulting curriculum, and how does it differ from the traditional curriculum?
In order to answer these questions, a mapping procedure of educational websites is needed. Recently, Nachmias, Mioduser, Oren and Lahav (1999) constructed a comprehensive classification scheme of educational websites. Their classification scheme, or taxonomy, introduced about 100 variables in four dimensions: the descriptive dimension (e.g., target population, site developers, language), pedagogical dimension (e.g., instructional model, instructional means, cognitive demands), knowledge dimension (e.g., representational structure and means, navigation tools) and the communication dimension (e.g., links configuration, distant learning modes).
Mioduser et al. (Mioduser, Nachmias, Oren and Lahav, 1999; Mioduser, Nachmias, Lahav and Oren, 2000) applied the above taxonomy to 436 educational websites. They found that the main component shared by most sites was the information-base, built upon the hypermedia-CD model. As for interactivity features based on the implementation of new technological resources (e.g., Java applets, Shockwave), most online activities resembled the automatic-feedback (behaviorist-like) transactions of classic Computer Aided Instruction (CAI), such as multiple-choice questions. Mioduser et al. explained these results by claiming that assimilation of a new technology requires a transition period. This period is characterized by a replication of known pedagogical models by means of the new technology.
The taxonomy proposed by Nachmias et al. (1999) did not deal with central issues related to the scientific content of educational websites. We have therefore constructed a modified classification scheme for websites that focus on science education (Nachmias & Tuvi, 2001). The modified taxono my had an additional dimension: scientific content. This dimension included parameters such as graphical representation of science, scientific reliability, level of mathematics, the number of experiments described, interaction between science,...
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