from Erica K. Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor

Streaming Chemistry–On the Web

“Amazing DNA. Dee-Dee-Dee-Dee-DNA…” sang Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Collins used his talents as a guitarist and singer, along with his genetics background, to cap off his presentation at the recent National Association of Biology Teachers conference in Atlanta. He accompanied himself as he sang an adaptation of the 1960s song “Runaway” by Del Shannon, with lyrics focusing on the science of DNA. It was a great song and he received a standing ovation. I enjoyed watching it, despite the fact that I was physically miles and miles away at the time. How? A friend of mine attended the conference and sent me a link to a streaming video of Collins’ song on YouTube. I was watching it within days of the actual presentation, along with nearly 1,000 other people, based on the listed number of “views”. I was even able to quickly join the 294,000 people who watched the YouTube video of Del Shannon performing the original version (accessed Dec 2007; now no longer available). Collins was an excellent presenter and combined science content with a medium incredibly appealing to teenaged students hooked in to their iPods. It was a good model to try to emulate as a teacher (although guitar skills are probably necessary).

Today’s technology, used on sites such as YouTube that share streaming content, provide unparalleled immediacy, and the ability to see and share visual information with vast numbers of people. Greenbowe’s commentary “We’ll Make You a Better Teacher: Learning from Guitar Techniques” makes a case for creating and using resources such as these as part of a trusted resource for chemistry instructors to “make you a better teacher”. He says “Individuals…who have made excellent presentations at regional and national meetings should be featured on a Web site” and “…it is far better to see these master teachers in action…”. It’s clear the beginnings are there, and an organized effort could yield a useful service. Greenbowe’s commentary is also blogged at the ChemEd Digital Library “Expert Voices” page. He invites the chemical education community to visit the blog to discuss these ideas.

Streaming Chemistry–For Earth Day

You’ll find another type of stream in the February 2008 issue of JCE. JCE offers its annual Earth Day coverage based on the American Chemical Society’s 2008 theme “Streaming Chemistry”. Tomasik begins her Earth Day-themed News from Online article by comparing the process of finding resources online to a meandering river. She then releases a torrent of useful URLs to interest and educate you as well as your students. She mentions several past JCE articles and activities. This issue’s “JCE Resources for Chemistry and Water” also shares more than 30 other JCE items related to water and its chemistry. These include experiments, demonstrations, activities, book reviews, and informational articles. The JCE Online PDF of the resource paper will have links to cited URLs and JCE articles—easy to click on and access immediately on the Web. Sutheimer provides some great ideas for getting students involved in meaningful projects outside of the usual classroom curriculum. She realizes that there are definite barriers to participation in service-learning projects, and makes suggestions to overcome these obstacles. She describes several service learning projects her college has undertaken. These include water quality monitoring for their local watershed district, and dyeing infant bodysuits (“onesies”) for a nonprofit group. These articles and more should really start your own ideas flowing!

Laura’s Take on the Issue

from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor

Like many teachers, I have collected lots of “alternative” teaching styles over the years, but mainly continue to use methods that “work best for me”. One of my favorites is the Socratic method of teaching; however, my students often ask, ”Can you stop asking so many questions?” As the Introduction to Organic Chemistry class drew to a close last fall, my students and I discussed trying some different teaching methods in the Introduction to Biochemistry course this spring. I have been especially interested in trying some active learning methods and Bobich’s article, “Active Learning of Biochemistry Made Easy (for the Teacher)”, has convinced me to give it a try. I plan to do at least one lesson a week using Bobich’s suggested style—a student comes prepared to lead the discussion while the other students have reviewed the material so that they can actively participate in the discussion. It does sound “easy” to me and my class is not large, so grading their work should not be overwhelming. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!!!

JCE High School Chemed Learning Information Center (CLIC)