For many years, Physical Chemistry has been considered a rigorous course for students majoring in chemistry due to the extensive amount of mathematics and physics knowledge that is required. Therefore, I find my goal is to develop the best strategy that will allow the students to comprehend and enjoy the material covered in class. In the physical chemistry lectures, I have incorporated more technology to expose our students to new ways of learning Physical Chemistry concepts and research. These types of learning activities will enhance knowledge in chemical concepts and the new world of chemical research and technology that is available to complement the traditional lecture approach. I started to use my iPad and the application GoodNotes as the interface to do the handwriting part of the lectures and project them in the classroom. With this application, I am able to import figures that I can use to better explain the chemistry concepts. Mostly, I import the figures used in the textbook and I use the application to highlight very important information and to write on the figures. In recent years, I have also used several molecular modeling Apps, such as iSpartan, WebMo, and Odyssey app series, to incorporate more interactive content examples in my lectures. In this presentation, I will demonstrate how these Apps can be used to explain several physical chemistry concepts (e.g. van der Waals gas constants, molecular orbitals, vibrational modes, and symmetry elements). Most students have found that these teaching tools are more effective compared to the usual chalk board lectures, image projection, or manual drawing.

Using molecular modeling Apps to provide interactive content examples in physical chemistry lectures

2019 Spring National Meeting

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