One of the challenges in developing an
online school is the laboratory work. A
problem with most lab work in
educational institutions is that it
consists of cookbook exercises that do
not tend to be memorable. If you don't
recall an experience in an educational
setting, then it has little value.
In contrast, laboratory research
experience, in which one is asked to
solve a problem through scientific
exploration, is highly memorable. The
site below gives the student an
opportunity to do just that. It offers
the student a chance to move away from
canned exercises toward creative work.
The challenge to be creative is
practically absent in current medical
training, but the
Chemistry Collective
is a virtual laboratory and gives the
student a free, safe and comprehensive
way to begin.
The
Chemistry Collective offers users the
opportunity to perform chemical formula
simulations. You can visually experience
chemical processes and change the
variables in a formula, such as acidity,
temperature and viscosity.
There is no charge to use The Chemistry Collective or to download a copy of
the program for educational use.
Located on the Carnegie Mellon Department of Chemistry Web site, the
Chemistry Collective's main task is to make chemistry visible and functional to
users, particularly high school and college chemistry students. One of the goals
of the project is to help supplement classroom instruction and homework
reinforcement. The site provides a downloadable Adobe PDF step-by-step
demonstration document as well as a User Guide.
The
online version uses Java, a programming language, to simulate the experience of
being in a laboratory. Most modern computers and browsers support Java and Java
applets. You can also download a free current version of Java from Sun
Microsystems at
www.sun.com.
You can perform simulations online or download the entire program to your
computer. It is available in both Windows (Zip file) and Macintosh (Tar.gz file)
formats. You will need to have a copy of WinZip or Stuffit Expander (or a
similar program for your operating system) to uncompress the archive files.
Windows users need at least Windows 95 or higher, 128MB of RAM, and 15MB of free
hard drive space. The project's web site is located at
http://www.chemcollective.org/
Related Information:
Chem Tutor contains strategies to help users understand Chemistry
concepts at
http://www.chemtutor.com.
Language Learning and the Web is a web paper about the benefits of
using Java to create and distribute interactive instruction.
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/cgi/1.html.
Science Geek's Links to Chemistry Freeware:
http://www.sciencegeek.net/Chemistry/chemware/chemware.shtml
Howard Hughes Medical Institute is an innovative "bio-interactive"
online laboratory, with articles, links, and experiments.
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/
Allen Brain Atlas Project, run by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is
building a map of the brain:
http://www.brainatlas.org/
To summarize, it is an essential part of your educational experience to
experiment in an unstructured setting. As a student, it is your goal to be a
creative person, and to make a contribution to medical science.