THE NOMENCLATURE NOOK CLIENT I am requesting this application to assist my Chemistry I Honors students in learning chemical nomenclature. The application would be available to students for use outside of school hours and would be used on a voluntary basis. With improved quality and content, I would like to make this application available to not only other chemistry teachers at my school, but also chemistry teachers countywide. PROBLEM, GOALS My goal is to help my Chemistry I Honors students master the elements and symbols on the periodic table, names and formulas of polyatomic ions, and nomenclature (naming and writing formulas of chemical compounds). In doing so, I hope students will demonstrate mastery of the material on classroom-issued assessments. TARGET AUDIENCE The target audience will range from high school sophomores to seniors, most likely ages 15-18, enrolled in a high school chemistry class. As my students are still in their adolescence, they are in the process of moving from concrete the abstract thought. They are also starting to develop their metacognitive abilities. It is recommended that teachers provide opportunities for students to reinforce new information and to make lessons interactive. 1 GOALS/OUTCOMES FOR TARGET AUDIENCE Recall the symbol of an element when given the name. Recall the name of an element when given a symbol. Identify polyatomic ion given a formula and charge. Recall prefixes and their numerical meaning. Identify the difference between an ionic and covalent compound. Name basic compounds given a formula. Write formulas for basic compounds given a name. APPLICATION DESCRIPTION The application will: quiz students on the elements and symbols. quiz students on identifying polyatomic ions. quiz students on the prefixes and their meanings. present information on identifying ionic and covalent compounds. present information on how to name ionic compounds. present information on how to name basic covalent compounds. present information on how to write formulas for ionic compounds. present information on how to write formulas for basic covalent compounds. quiz students on naming compounds. quiz students on writing chemical formulas. 1 Lorain, Peter. "NEA - Brain Development in Young Adolescents." NEA - NEA Home. Web. 29 Apr. 2010. <http://www.nea.org/tools/16653.htm>. 1
TASK ANALYSIS 1. Memorize elements and symbols (will only be assessed in application). 2. Memorize polyatomic ions and formulas with charges (will only be assessed in application). 3. Identify ionic compounds as ones that contain a metal and/or polyatomic ion. 4. When given a formula: a. name the cation and anion. b. If the anion is an element, change the name to end in ide. c. If the cation is a transition metal, calculate its charge to include as a roman numeral. 5. When given a name, determine the charge of the two ions and criss-cross them to become the subscript of the opposite ion. 3. Identify covalent compounds as containing only nonmetals. 4. When given a formula, use the subscript of the element as the prefix of the name, making sure the second element ends in ide. 5. When given a name, use the prefix to determine the subscript for that element. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS--CREATOR The application will be created using Adobe Flash CS4 on a Windows Vista OS. According to Adobe s website, the following are minimum requirements: 1GHz or faster processor Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and Windows Vista) 1GB of RAM 3.5GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices) 1,024024x768 display (1,280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card DVD-ROM drive QuickTime 7.1.2 software required for multimedia features Photoshop CS4 for basic graphic creation Broadband Internet connection required for online services TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS--LEARNER The learner must have a Flash Player 10 installed on the computer in use and meet the following requirements: Windows: Intel Pentium II 450MHz, AMD Athlon 600MHz or faster processor (or equivalent) Macintosh: PowerPC G3 500MHz or faster processor or Intel Core Duo 1.33GHz or faster processor 128 MB of RAM 128 MB of VRAM Minimum monitor resolution of 852x480 Internet Explorer 6.0, Firefox 2.x, or Safari 3.x or later Mouse, Keyboard 2
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES Learners will: Recall the elements and their associated symbols. Recall the polyatomic ions and their associated formula and charge. Recall the prefixes used in naming covalent compounds and their meaning. Identify compounds as ionic or covalent. Determine the name of an ionic or covalent compound. Determine the formula of an ionic or covalent compound. PREREQUISITE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE Learners should be fluent in English and have access to an internet-connected computer. Learners should be familiar with basic computer use including operation of a mouse and keyboard. Learners should also have access to and familiarity with the Periodic Table of Elements. Learners should have already begun the process of memorizing elements and their symbols. Learners must have access to a list of common polyatomic ions and should have begun the process of memorizing names and formulas with charges. Learners should have a list of prefixes and should have begun the process of memorizing their meaning. Learners must have prior knowledge of element charges (oxidation states). Learners should be able to distinguish between metals and nonmetals. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES The instructional sections of the application will incorporate direct instructional techniques. Learners will be guided through a series of tasks and given several examples of how to apply the processes taught. The quiz sections of the application will use drill and practice techniques to help learners master the objectives at their own pace. Drill and practice methods are a useful means of reinforcing concepts 2. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND FEEDBACK Assessment Method Feedback Element quiz Free response Learners will be required to enter the correct name or symbol of the element. Upon clicking a button to check the answer, learners will know immediately if the answers were correct. The learner will be able to reattempt the Polyatomic ion quiz Prefix quiz Drag and drop Free response question. Learners will be provided with immediate feedback as to the correctness in matching polyatomic ion names with their formula and charge. Learners will be required to enter the correct meaning of a prefix. Upon clicking a button to check the answer, learners will know immediately if the answers were correct. The learner will be able to reattempt the question. 2 "Instructional Strategies Online - Drill & Practice." Online Learning Centre. Saskatoon Public Schools, 2009. Web. 21 Feb. 2010. <http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/drill/index.html>. 3
Naming compounds quiz Writing formulas quiz Multiple choice Multiple choice Learners will be required to select the correct name of a compound when given a formula. Upon clicking a button, learners will know immediately if the answer is correct. If incorrect, a hint will be provided. The learner will be able to reattempt the question. Learners will be required to select the correct formula of a compound when given a name. Upon clicking a button, learners will know immediately if the answer is correct. If incorrect, a hint will be provided. The learner will be able to reattempt the question. USE OF MEDIA Media will be used sparingly throughout the application. Information will be presented in text format and will use color to draw attention to specific aspects of examples. Interactivity during the instructional sections will be limited to controlling the pace at which information is presented. Interactivity during the quiz sections will include assessment activities (see previous assessment methods and feedback section). LEARNER CONTROL AND NAVIGATION After an introductory splash screen, the learner will navigate to a main menu where they will have the option to enter the different sections of the program (5 quizzes, 3 instructional). Within each section, learners will have the ability to return to the main menu from any point in the section. Within the quiz sections, learners will have the option to check their answer and move to the next question, if available. At the end of the naming and formula quiz sections, learners will be able to see how many questions total they have answered correctly. Within the instructional sections, learners will have the ability to move forward or backwards through the instruction. At the end of the lesson, the only option will be to return to the main menu. LIMITATIONS/ CONSTRAINTS FOR THE PROJECT Based on time constraints, quiz sections will not include as many assessment items as intended. Based on time constraints and the programming ability level, the instruction sections will not contain significant interactivity. Future development of the project will add more interactivity to the instructional portions. SCOPE OF THE PROJECT I plan to complete all portions of the quiz sections, but not to the fullest extent that I would like. For example, I would like my quiz section on the elements include a total of 40-50 different elements. However, for this course, I will only include approximately 6 elements. The same would apply to the polyatomic ion quiz section, naming compounds quiz section, and writing formulas quiz section. In addition, the instructional sections do not include opportunities for the learner to engage and practice the material presented. They are purely instructional. LIST OF DELIVERABLES FOR THE PROJECT Deliverables will include nine Flash.swf files, one.html file, and 12.fla files (for future modifications). The application will be published on www.plantlectures.com. 4
TIMELINE FOR DEVELOPMENT Portion of Final Project Anticipated Date of Completion Polyatomic quiz section W 2/24 Splash, menu, and help page W 3/3 Prefix quiz section W 3/10 Instruction on identifying ionic and covalent compounds W 3/17 Instruction on naming ionic compounds W 3/24 Element quiz section W 3/31 Naming compounds quiz section W 4/7 Formula writing quiz section W 4/14 Final Prototype T 4/20 STYLE GUIDE AND CONVENTIONS All screens will use a black background and bright green font to contrast (00FF00). A lighter purple color (FF00FF) will be used for accents. Fonts will use Calibri Regular or Bold and will vary in size from 18-30 pt fonts depending on its hierarchical relationship on the slide (heading 1, heading 2, paragraph, etc.). The next button will appear in the bottom right corner and the previous button in the bottom left. The main menu button will appear in the top right corner. Other buttons (check, submit) will be located in the bottom middle of the screen. Refer to the Storyboard section below for sample images. HIGH LEVEL FLOW CHART 5
LOW LEVEL FLOW CHARTS 6
*Answer must be selected **No answer is selected *Answer must be selected **No answer is selected STORYBOARDS The application will be developed from a single main menu which will call on eight different.swf files. They will each be loaded into separate containers and buttons will control which containers are visible. The lower level branching indicates how each of the buttons would function and which screens the learner would be directedd to. See Appendix 2 for a complete view of all screens. Below are sample screens from each section. 7
Main Menu Element Quiz 8
Polyatomic Ion Quiz Prefix Quiz 9
Ionic or Covalent Covalent Compounds 10
Ionic Compounds Naming Quiz 11
Writing Formulas Quiz CITATIONS Lorain, Peter. "NEA - Brain Development in Young Adolescents." NEA - NEA Home. Web. 29 Apr. 2010. <http://www.nea.org/tools/16653.htm>. Varvel, Jr, Virgil E. "Illinois Online Network: Instructional Resources : Pointers and Clickers : Storyboards." Illinois Online Network: Your Source for Technology Enhanced and Online Education Information. University of Illinois, 2004. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. <http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/pointersclickers/2004_09/page5.asp>. APPENDIX 1 Paper-based materials No user manual is provided for this application. Students will be shown a demonstration in class on how to navigate the application. There are no handouts for the learner to complete as this is a voluntary, supplement application. APPENDIX 2 Low level story boards This appendix contains views of every screen from the application. The white frames are used to indicate the different sections of the application or to give additional information about a section. 12
Elements Polyatomic Ions 1
Prefixes Ionic or Covalent 2
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Covalent Compounds 4
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Ionic Compounds 7
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Naming 12
Each of the questions has a check button that provides the same feedback exhibited in the first question. The questions and answer choices are randomized. Writing Formulas 13
Each of the questions has a check button that provides the same feedback exhibited in the first question. The questions and answer choices are randomized. 14