The ever-expanding internet access and the mass availability of affordable computers for students provide a new and exciting opportunity for academia. The online education enables scaling of the class size and allows students to attend sessions remotely, even if they cannot be physically present on campus. Emerging technologies bear the promise of a more engaging experience for online education, but they have to meet the same high standards as the ones used in the classroom: a chemically-correct representation is at least as important as an attractive and intuitive user interface. Customization also needs to fit simultaneously the course type (organic, inorganic, biochemistry, etc), the skill level of the student and the control needs of the instructor.<br/> <br/>In this presentation we will look at a few case studies of novel, visual and interactive solutions developed in Marvin JS for handling various chemical structure representations, such as lone electron pairs, electron flow arrows, organic and generic reaction mechanisms, systematic naming or isomer visualization. We will also look at an online service built on Marvin JS, called Office Hours, which enables online discussion between teachers and students with a focus on tutoring, mentoring and testing. This application allows students to form study groups while also having built-in reporting capabilities which allow the instructor to be up to date with the skill level of the class. Given the widespread adoption of Marvin JS across different chemical industries, students have the added benefit of learning and honing their skills on the same tools they are likely to use when they will enter the work force, after graduation.

Development of a chemical drawing program that provides scientifically correct and engaging first impression for students

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.