JCE Software, 5B2: Editorial

What Good Are Computers Anyway?

John W. Moore
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1396

Note:
This issue is out of print.

JCE: Software is a journal. It is the part of the Journal of Chemical Education that publishes software rather than printed papers. Some aspects of a software journal are different from a print journal, and we are learning (with your help as loyal subscribers and software submitters) what some of those differences are. But a fundamental similarity will always link JCE: Software and JCE: our principal aim is to advance the state of the art of chemical education by providing communication of ideas and instructional materials among authors and subscribers.
I think JCE: Software can do this best by publishing examples of software that stretch the limits of what computers can do effectively. We hope each issue will help answer the question, What good are computers anyway?. This one is a prime example. The programs it contains exemplify the kinds of educational improvements good software can make. Most of them are part of the CATALYST curriculum development project and have been used extensively at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and The University of Texas at Austin in addition to having been peer reviewed in normal JCE: Software fashion. Examining what they do is instructive, and I hope it will motivate readers to use computers and other technology effectively in chemistry classes. Perhaps some readers will be inspired to make their own software that embodies ideas presented here.
BCTC for Windows is an excellent example of what computer simulation is all about. Like the related Lake Study for Windows, also by David Whisnant and James McCormick (JCE: Software 1992 5B(1)), BCTC is designed to involve students in the scientific method. The computer gives them a simulated, but realistic and significant, problem. By collecting information from the computer and applying scientific analysis to it, they can address that problem. BCTC goes beyond Lake Study by suggesting group work by the students and involving a role-playing discussion exercise, both based upon the information students are able to obtain through simulated experiments. This aspect has been described separately (J. Chem. Educ. 1992 69 42). In addition, the problem students address in BCTC is not one that has an obvious answer. Unlike the way we often teach science, there is no right answer to the question of what ought to be done about the hypothetical chemical BCTC. Different students may arrive at different conclusions using the same information, and their discussions about what action (if any) is appropriate can be quite illuminating both to them and to their instructors. Without the computer to provide a broad range of information quickly and easily, such a simulated experience would be much more difficult to implement.
Rutherford, by Robert C. Rittenhouse, is another example of computer simulation, but of quite a different type. It provides a student, or an instructor demonstrating for a class, with the option of collecting alpha-particle scattering data for a variety of metal foils and radioactive sources (particle energies). Students can design and carry out simulated experiments of the type done by Rutherford, Geiger, and Marsden. Results can be analyzed via Notebook, a program published previously in JCE: Software. But Rutherford goes further. It provides two submicroscopic simulations based on the equations Rutherford used to interpret Geiger and Marsden's scattering data. Students can see graphic representations of trajectories of alpha-particles through a single gold atom (or an atom of several other metals). They can see how those trajectories depend on particle energy and impact parameter. Or they can explore trajectories through several layers of atoms with particle energies low enough that Rutherford's initial interpretation is not adequate and multiple scattering effects are possible. Rutherford makes very effective use of the computer's ability to calculate quickly and display the results of calculations in graphic form.
Richard York's Microstate provides a statistics-based simulation of occupancy of energy levels among a collection of harmonic oscillators. Here again the computer's quick calculations provide the basis for a microscopic simulation that results in a graphic representation of energy distribution among the oscillators.
Phillip Pavlik's Animated Demonstrations make effective use of computer animation, another technique that exemplifies the advantages of technology. Animated water molecules hydrating Na+ and Cl ions and carrying them off into solution from a salt crystal lattice are far better than textbook illustrations or what even the best of us can do with chalk on a board. The same is true of the other animated demonstrations. They need only be used once to get the point across and allow student's minds to develop a good picture of what is happening on the molecular level. Such a picture might take years and a lot more experience to develop without such a concrete representation of what we think is happening.
What generalities about effective use of computers can we draw from the example software provided in this issue? These programs work because they make use of several advantages of computers: data can be stored and retrieved quickly and easily; calculations can be done rapidly and accurately; retrieved data or results of calculations can be displayed in graphic form, making them easier to interpret; molecular-scale entities and events can be displayed as still images or animations that help students generate useful mental pictures of what we think is happening. In addition all of these programs involve students in active learning situations, helping them to develop their own mental models of science.
Anyone who is considering software for adoption and anyone who is even thinking of writing software can learn a great deal from these examples. Ultimately many other educators, and more importantly students, will benefit. That is what this journal is all about.

First Published: December 1992
Citation: Moore, J. W. What Good Are Computers Anyway? J. Chem. Educ. Software 5B2
Keywords:

News | Issues | CD-ROM / Video | Find It! | Technical Support | For Authors

JCE Online | Journal | Software | Internet | Happenings | About JCE | Contact JCE

Last Updated: April 26, 2001
Created: December 3, 1996 Created by: J. L. Holmes
Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.



What Good Are Computers Anyway?
John W. Moore University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1396

Note:	This issue is out of print.

JCE: Software is a journal. It is the part of the Journal of Chemical Education that publishes software rather than printed papers. Some aspects of a software journal are different from a print journal, and we are learning (with your help as loyal subscribers and software submitters) what some of those differences are. But a fundamental similarity will always link JCE: Software and JCE: our principal aim is to advance the state of the art of chemical education by providing communication of ideas and instructional materials among authors and subscribers. I think JCE: Software can do this best by publishing examples of software that stretch the limits of what computers can do effectively. We hope each issue will help answer the question, What good are computers anyway?. This one is a prime example. The programs it contains exemplify the kinds of educational improvements good software can make. Most of them are part of the CATALYST curriculum development project and have been used extensively at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and The University of Texas at Austin in addition to having been peer reviewed in normal JCE: Software fashion. Examining what they do is instructive, and I hope it will motivate readers to use computers and other technology effectively in chemistry classes. Perhaps some readers will be inspired to make their own software that embodies ideas presented here. BCTC for Windows is an excellent example of what computer simulation is all about. Like the related Lake Study for Windows, also by David Whisnant and James McCormick (JCE: Software 1992 5B(1)), BCTC is designed to involve students in the scientific method. The computer gives them a simulated, but realistic and significant, problem. By collecting information from the computer and applying scientific analysis to it, they can address that problem. BCTC goes beyond Lake Study by suggesting group work by the students and involving a role-playing discussion exercise, both based upon the information students are able to obtain through simulated experiments. This aspect has been described separately (J. Chem. Educ. 1992 69 42). In addition, the problem students address in BCTC is not one that has an obvious answer. Unlike the way we often teach science, there is no right answer to the question of what ought to be done about the hypothetical chemical BCTC. Different students may arrive at different conclusions using the same information, and their discussions about what action (if any) is appropriate can be quite illuminating both to them and to their instructors. Without the computer to provide a broad range of information quickly and easily, such a simulated experience would be much more difficult to implement. Rutherford, by Robert C. Rittenhouse, is another example of computer simulation, but of quite a different type. It provides a student, or an instructor demonstrating for a class, with the option of collecting alpha-particle scattering data for a variety of metal foils and radioactive sources (particle energies). Students can design and carry out simulated experiments of the type done by Rutherford, Geiger, and Marsden. Results can be analyzed via Notebook, a program published previously in JCE: Software. But Rutherford goes further. It provides two submicroscopic simulations based on the equations Rutherford used to interpret Geiger and Marsden's scattering data. Students can see graphic representations of trajectories of alpha-particles through a single gold atom (or an atom of several other metals). They can see how those trajectories depend on particle energy and impact parameter. Or they can explore trajectories through several layers of atoms with particle energies low enough that Rutherford's initial interpretation is not adequate and multiple scattering effects are possible. Rutherford makes very effective use of the computer's ability to calculate quickly and display the results of calculations in graphic form. Richard York's Microstate provides a statistics-based simulation of occupancy of energy levels among a collection of harmonic oscillators. Here again the computer's quick calculations provide the basis for a microscopic simulation that results in a graphic representation of energy distribution among the oscillators. Phillip Pavlik's Animated Demonstrations make effective use of computer animation, another technique that exemplifies the advantages of technology. Animated water molecules hydrating Na+ and Cl ions and carrying them off into solution from a salt crystal lattice are far better than textbook illustrations or what even the best of us can do with chalk on a board. The same is true of the other animated demonstrations. They need only be used once to get the point across and allow student's minds to develop a good picture of what is happening on the molecular level. Such a picture might take years and a lot more experience to develop without such a concrete representation of what we think is happening. What generalities about effective use of computers can we draw from the example software provided in this issue? These programs work because they make use of several advantages of computers: data can be stored and retrieved quickly and easily; calculations can be done rapidly and accurately; retrieved data or results of calculations can be displayed in graphic form, making them easier to interpret; molecular-scale entities and events can be displayed as still images or animations that help students generate useful mental pictures of what we think is happening. In addition all of these programs involve students in active learning situations, helping them to develop their own mental models of science. Anyone who is considering software for adoption and anyone who is even thinking of writing software can learn a great deal from these examples. Ultimately many other educators, and more importantly students, will benefit. That is what this journal is all about.


News \| Issues \| CD-ROM / Video \| Find It! \| Technical Support \| For Authors
JCE Online \| Journal \| Software \| Internet \| Happenings \| About JCE \| Contact JCE

Last Updated: April 26, 2001 Created: December 3, 1996	Created by: J. L. Holmes Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.