Ch6 lec 1

(4/6/2020, bes)

Greetings!

Great job getting through the WA exam. I know that this experience was not perfect for everyone...one of you could not even see the "buttons" to select an answer (weird, but it is a computer)...but overall, i feel that it was acceptable/successful. I made a small mistake in the coding...when i added the last "essay" questions to the exam...the WA system by default assigned 1 pt to each response...so...you had the option to get 3 bonus points by responding! Yes, it was listed as optional, but i guess that is another name for extra-credit? So, the exam was out of 100 pts, you had an opportunity to earn 103 pts...you can see your score, which is equal to the %; one of you got a 103%.

About those 3 additional questions:

So when asked "How is online Gen Chem going?" you responded:

Response 1

going really well, it is awesome...to difficult, stressful, harder to learn on my own...to terrible, awful.

My reply: Taking an online course is not for everyone. After 20 years of teaching, i hope that what we do in the classroom/in-person, supplemental instruction/tutoring, and the facilities we can provide for labs is better than what we are currently doing...otherwise we need to rethink all of education! Again, online courses are not for everyone and hence the people who replied positively to the question (going really well, it is awesome) would be the folks who would sign up for an online course, BUT NOT ALL OF YOU WERE GIVEN THIS OPTION...it was just dropped in your lap.

Additionally, if you were going to sign up for an online course, you would probably already know that you have quality internet and a relatively new computer/laptop. Having this dropped on you as a non-elective mode of learning, you were not given the opportunity to acquire all of the tools needed to fully utilize an online course experience. Take home: don't be too hard on yourself, these are truly unique times (i never expected this would happen).

Response 2

"it would be nice to have some video/Zoom sessions

My reply: As noted above, since this online mode of delivery was not your choice, it is most likely the case that not everyone has quality internet /computer needed to stream video...now i could be wrong, but from talking with my colleagues who are using Zoom, there are new and interesting unforeseen "problems" that are not only associated with quality internet, but other issues related to the fact that nearly all elementary, middle, highschool, and college courses are now being taught online, not to mention that many professionals are working from home.

Some of my colleagues are teaching class in the same way they did prior to spring break...a the normal 8 am lecture meets at 8 am...but nothing is NORMAL now...hence, they are having to record and upload videos to accommodate future viewing. This results in an additional resource/location of content to keep organized. I personally think that i could do a good job putting together a collection of videos to discuss key Gen Chem topics, but not in the time frame that we are on. Take home: after Easter Break, i may setup a Zoom office hours (11 am M-Th)...stay tuned. by the way, MC did get a license for all of us to use Zoom, but we may be shifting over to Microsoft Meetings...???...

Response 3

a lot of work, too many WA, hard to keep track of everything

My reply: I personally have now learned that i cannot cover the same amount of material in an online delivery mode than i can do in class/lab...but i am now just finding this out. I don't mind making you work hard, but i can write down topics faster than i can teach them and certainly faster than you can learn them. So, i agree with many of you who said that the current Gen Chem is more work now than before and that there are more WA than before.

Here is my strategy...give a short text-lecture focusing on the sections in the textbook that are the most important, add a few examples in the lecture, then have you work these examples in WA. For this reason, with each lecture there was a corresponding WA that was due 2 days later (or more)...ie 8 am Mon lecture WA was due 8 am Weds. This is a large contrast to what we were doing, ie. one to two WA for each chapter, allowing you more freedom to schedule your "homework" times. My fear of allowing this flexibility at this time is that if you will fall behind and then you will need to ask question about material that is ~ 1-week old. As i have expressed previously, the chemistry you learn today will be used tomorrow and beyond (cumulative). And yes, sometime WA problems ARE more difficult than the basic ones discussed when introducing the content. Take home: i will lighten up on the content/lecture size, but i will continue to assign a WA for each lecture (when appropriate)...PLEASE ask for an time extension if needed.

Response 4

please email use when notes/labs are posted

My reply: I can certainly do this, but since class meets 3 times per week (MWF) with a lab, you should expect to receive a text-lecture each MWF with a lab activity sometime M or T. I don't want to send too many emails and possibly make this more complicated. Take home: expect a lecture MWF usually with a WA to follow due before the next lecture.

Okay...I am happy to chat more individually, but it is time to move on!