School Seminar: Dr Dino Spagnoli; The Universtiy of Western Australia
Friday, 3 September 11:00am – 12:00pm
This seminar will be delivered via Zoom – Please email chemistry.researchsupport@sydney.edu.au for zoom link and password.
Speaker: Dr Dino Spagnoli; School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia
Host: Dr Stephen George Williams
Title: Online learning technologies to improve student laboratory learning
Abstract: The advances and uses of learning technologies in higher education have increased vastly over recent years. Not least because of the rapid and essential pivot to online teaching during 2020. In this presentation, I will describe the learning technologies that my group have developed to improve student learning in the laboratory. The first learning technology is the use of a 360o laboratory tour, which can be used to help students build confidence before attending the laboratory and become more familiar with their surroundings [1]. However, other aspects of the affective domain of learning, such as self-efficacy, does not appear to be improved from the use of this virtual tour. The second learning technology is the use of pre-laboratory lightboard videos. This study involves probing students learning in the cognitive domain and comparing the effectiveness of a lightboard video with a PowerPoint style video of similar content. The results seem to suggest that only certain chemistry concepts are better suited to the use of a Lightboard. The third type of learning technology is the use of an augmented reality (AR) experience which could be used before, during or after the laboratory [2]. In this preliminary study, I will describe the use of the technology acceptance model [3] as a means of discovering the apps user friendliness for students.
- Clemons, T. D., Fouché, L., Rummey, C., Lopez, R. E. & Spagnoli, D. Introducing the First Year Laboratory to Undergraduate Chemistry Students with an Interactive 360° Experience. J Chem Educ 96, 1491–1496 (2019).
- Ovens, M., Ellyard, M., Hawkins, J. & Spagnoli, D. Developing an Augmented Reality Application in an Undergraduate DNA Precipitation Experiment to Link Macroscopic and Submicroscopic Levels of Chemistry. J Chem Educ 97, 3882–3886 (2020).
- Wojciechowski, R. & Cellary, W. Evaluation of learners’ attitude toward learning in ARIES augmented reality environments. Comput Educ 68, 570–585 (2013).