Using Technology To Enhance the Effectiveness of General Chemistry Laboratory Courses
Kathleen M. Carvalho-Knighton and Linda Keen-Rocha
Department of Environmental Science, University of South Florida–St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Practicing and teaching current chemistry requires the use of computers, yet the focus of undergraduate teaching laboratories for several decades has been using the traditional bench method. This paper makes a case for the pedagogical advantages of using computer-interface systems to perform computer-assisted experiments in general chemistry laboratory courses. We compare data from control group students using traditional bench laboratory procedures and experimental group students using computer-interface laboratory procedures with the software program LabWorks. The results show that conducting laboratory activities using computer-interface procedures can improve student understanding of calorimetry.
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Citation
Carvalho-Knighton, Kathleen M.; Keen-Rocha, Linda. J. Chem. Educ.2007, 84, 727.
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