Committee on Computers
in Chemical Education

FUTURE ON-LINE INTERCOLLEGIATE AND INTERSCHOLASTIC COURSES

Donald Rosenthal
Chair, CCCE
Department of Chemistry
Clarkson University
Potsdam NY 13699-5810
315-265-9242
rosen@clarkson.edu

I. INTRODUCTION

One recent initiative of the ACS Division of Chemical Education's Committee
on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE) is the development of
intercollegiate and interscholastic on-line courses.  Such courses are
intended to be collaborative efforts with course instructors at each school.
In planning such courses the Committee solicits ideas and needs volunteers
to serve on organizing committees and as course instructors at participating
school.

Discussion of on-line courses will occur at an open meeting of the CCCE to
be held at the BCCE at Clemson on Tuesday, August 6, 1996.  Those unable to
attend the meeting may send ideas and suggestions or volunteer to
participate by contacting me.  In the following paragraphs, I will outline
some of the characteristics and possible scenarios for courses.

The first course sponsored by the CCCE was entitled "Environmental and
Industrial Chemistry" and was offered during the Spring 1996 semester.  An
article on this course appears elsewhere in this Newsletter.

II. STUDENTS

A course could be offered for credit or not for credit to:
A. A general audience of Students
B. Pre-High School Students
C. High School Students
D. Two-Year College Students
E. Underclass College and University Students
F. Upperclass College and University Students
G. Graduate Students
H. Some combination of the above

III. SCOPE OF THE ON-LINE SEGMENT

The on-line segment might constitute:
A. a small part of a traditional course,
B. a major part of the course, or
C. most or almost all of the course.

An example of situation A - The trial session of the course on
"Environmental and Industrial Chemistry" was part of physical chemistry
courses and featured a paper on flames.  Only a few weeks were devoted to
this segment.  (See discussion elsewhere in this Newsletter.)

Examples of situations B and C - In the course "Environmental and Industrial
Chemistry" participating course instructors had considerable latitude in
structuring their local course.  Some course instructors required
considerable off-line activities - class meetings, preparation of papers,
etc.  Other instructors required little other than participation in the
on-line segment.

IV. NATURE OF THE ON-LINE AND OFF-LINE SEGMENTS

A. Listserv, Bulletin Board and/or World Wide Web available for distribution
   of:
   1. Student papers
   2. Expert papers
   3. Student Questions
   4. Questions from authors of papers
   5. Answers to questions
   6. Discussion
   7. More or less formal debates on specific issues
   8. Assignments
   9. Other resource materials, e.g. graphics, film clips, audio, and links
      to WWW sites.
   10. Computer Assisted Instruction materials

B. Off-Line:
   1. Textbook
   2. Class meetings
   3. Assignments
   4. Discussion
   5. CD ROM and other materials

In many of the participating schools the course on "Environmental and
Industrial Chemistry" included A-1 to 6 and B-2 to 4.

A course might include traditional components (B-1 to 4) and provide only
discussion and the answering of questions on-line (A-3, 5 and 6).

V. COURSE PLANNING

Central to the development of a course is:

A. A course Chairperson
B. A Course Organizing Committee - there may or may not be one.
C. Course instructors at each participating school are essential in the
   model we propose.

   In the "Environmental and Industrial Chemistry" course the Organizing
   Committee defined the nature of the on-line segment.  Course instructors
   were responsible for off-line activities - class meetings and
   discussions, the assignment of student papers, examinations (if any) and
   course grades.  In addition, each course instructor had the
   responsibility for familiarizing his students with the e-mail system, the
   Listserv and the World Wide Web.

D. Students may or may not participate in the planning process.  One
   interesting possibility is that students help define the kind of course
   which is offered.  The course is then developed with the assistance of
   V-A to V-C.

VI. COMPUTER SERVICES - THEIR NATURE AND ADMINISTRATION

A. A Listserv, Listservs and/or a Bulletin Board
   In the "Environmental and Industrial Chemistry" course two Listservs were
   established at Clarkson University.  One (OLCC-FAC) was initially used by
   the Organizing Committee and at a later stage course instructors and
   expert authors were signed on.  This was a private list.  No one other
   than those I added was able to send or receive messages from the list.
   Besides being used by the organizing committee OLCC-FAC was used by
   course instructors and expert authors to exchange ideas, ask and answer
   questions and discuss various matters.

   The other Listserv (OLCC-STU) was managed by George Long and me.  It was
   a public Listserv (i.e.  anyone could sign on, but the subscription had
   to be confirmed).  Messages could only be sent or retrieved by
   subscribers.  This list was intended for students and the authors of
   papers.  Course instructors were asked to sign on but not participate in
   the on-line discussions.  James Beard (the course chairperson and chair
   of the Organizing Committee) sent some announcements to this list.  The
   list might have been moderated so that any message sent to the list was
   received by the list manager who then decided whether to distribute the
   message to the subscribers.  Neither OLCC-STU nor OLCC-FAC was moderated.

B. A World Wide Web site (WWW)

   In the "Environmental and Industrial Chemistry" course George Long
   managed the course website.  The papers and much of the course
   information was distributed from this site.  The papers and OLCC-STU
   discussion are archived at this site
   (http://dirac.py.iup.edu/college/chemistry/chem-course/webpage.html).
   While it is not essential that a WWW site be established, the presence
   of a site makes it easier to transmit papers, graphics and multimedia
   materials.  The website manager controls information which is distributed
   via the site.

C. Access to e-mail and the WWW at each of the participating schools

   Each student and course instructor needs to be able to access the
   appropriate Listserv and WWW.

VII. SOME ADVANTAGES OF ON-LINE COURSES

Offering a new or different course can be a formidable undertaking for an
isolated teacher particularly if it involves the use of what may be new
computer technologies.  Few of us can afford to do this for one or a very
few students.  Bringing outside experts on campus may simply not be
feasible.

Intercollegiate or interscholastic courses are collaborative efforts and can
involve educators and outside experts assuming different individual
responsibilities in producing a rich learning environment.  Such courses
provide a learning experience for teachers as well as students.

A. Some advantages for course instructors
   Provides an opportunity to:
   (1) collaborate with others in designing a course
   (2) interact with students, authors of papers and other instructors
   (3) involve experts (might be difficult because of geography,
       attracting experts to a course containing a very few students)
   (4) offer a course for a small number of students without having to
       devote an enormous amount of time
   (5) offer courses on topics which might otherwise not be possible

B. For students
   Provides an opportunity to:
   (1) interact with other students, experts and other instructors
       (some from different parts of the country or world,
       some having very different points of view)
   (2) take a course on a topic which might not otherwise be available
   (3) collaborate with other students (perhaps even at different schools)
       in preparing papers or researching a topic

VIII. WHAT NEXT?

The CCCE is prepared to ASSIST teachers in organizing on-line courses.

A course topic is needed - it could be General Chemistry, Environmental and
Industrial Chemistry or anything else.  One topic that was suggested at the
BCCE meeting at Bucknell was "Careers in Chemistry".  This seemed like a
very good idea to me.  As I visualize such a course, chemists in sales,
management, research and development and teaching could talk about what they
do and what opportunities exist in their fields.  I believe upperclass
chemistry students who are beginning to think about life after college would
be interested in such a course.

Volunteers are needed to serve on an Organizing Committee and a Chair is
needed.  In the one course which has been offered, a Chair volunteered.  We
helped him to recruit a Committee.  The course topic was selected by the
committee after the committee was formed.  (It does not have to be that
way.)

The Organizing Committee will need to recruit course instructors at other
schools.  Authors of papers may be needed.  Individuals are needed who are
willing to manage the Listservs and Websites.  The CCCE is prepared to
assist in these recruiting efforts.

We are hoping to find a few good men and women who are willing to devote
time and effort to organize courses.  Please contact me
(rosen@clarkson.edu) if you have ideas and wish to help OR come to the
open meeting at the Clemson BCCE.