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TsoiChem: A Mobile Application To Facilitate Student Learning in Organic
Chemistry
Mai Yin Tsoi
Sonal Dekhane
School of Science and Technology
Georgia Gwinnett College
Lawrenceville, GA
mtsoi@ggc.edu
School of Science and Technology
Georgia Gwinnett College
Lawrenceville, GA
sdekhane@ggc.edu
The popularity of mobile devices among students and
the availability of touch screen devices make mobile devices
an ideal avenue for delivering content that can be accessed
anywhere and everywhere, on the go. In this paper, we
discuss how the multi-touch features of devices, like the
iPhone, can be leveraged to create an interactive and
engaging mobile application (app) to teach fundamental
concepts of organic chemistry to science students. Thus,
these mobile devices can transfer the effectiveness of ““paper
and pencil practice”” into a digital and mobile format. We
describe how science learning theories were incorporated
into the design and planning of this application to best meet
the learning needs of students. In doing so, we believe that
the learning potential of the mobile device is enhanced and
perhaps can offer a more dynamic and useful learning
experience for the use.
This paper is organized as follows: section 2 discusses
the literature review and rationale for the mobile application
project, section 3 describes the mobile application and its
development in detail and section 4 concludes the paper by
discussing the future directions of this project.
Abstract—— Mobile devices, such as the iPhone, are potentially
powerful learning tools, with their touch screen capabilities
and highly interactive and engaging applications available for
download. The dependence of today’’s student on mobile
devices also contributes to the possibility of increased student
engagement and time-on-task –– both factors in student success.
This paper describes the development of a mobile application
(app) created as a learning tool for organic chemistry students.
The learning needs of organic chemistry students studying the
topic ““functional groups”” were first identified, appropriate
learning theories were chosen, and then a functional prototype
of the mobile application ““TsoiChem”” was designed and then
created using Apple’’s iOS Software Development Kit. Unlike
many existing chemistry applications, this application
leverages the multi-touch feature of iPhone to teach
fundamentals of functional groups to students and
incorporated several learning theories and models in doing so.
The ways in which learning theories and models helped inform
the design of this mobile app will be discussed.
Keywords- Mobile learning, mobile app, mobile application
development, Apple iPhone application, chemistry education,
organic chemistry, functional groups, learning theory, learning
models
I.
II.
INTRODUCTION
The use of mobile devices has grown at an amazing rate
over the last eight years. According to [12] and [13], there
are currently over 10 billion users of mobile devices.
Reference [20] explain that as modes of communication
have changed, consumers’’ expectations of their mobile
information, education and entertainment have also
changed. People expect information to be available and
accessible anytime, anywhere. This has resulted in the
proliferation of mobile devices in the hands of students
everywhere, whether it be for gaming, watching videos,
listening to music, sending text messages or even to make
the basic phone call. These students want their information
now –– and fast. The fact that most students today own a
mobile device has gotten educators considering the use of
the mobile device as a learning tool. The idea is that, along
with the other streams of information being provided by the
mobile device, perhaps course content could also be
delivered to students now –– and fast.
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BACKGROUND
A. Mobile Learning
Mobile learning, or m-learning, has received a lot of
attention in recent years as the popularity and use of mobile
devices has increased. The idea of m-learning basically
means facilitating learning by delivering content via a
mobile device, according to [11]. However, there has been a
wide range of opinions as to how m-learning occurs, what
factors affect m-learning, and in what contexts does mlearning occurs [22]. Some research, according to [22],
focuses on the device itself and the tools in the device that
can be utilized for learning. Others investigate the location
of the learner and how that impacts the reception of the
content being delivered. And [22] notes that when it comes
to the actual mobile applications on the device, a wide range
of learning theories are discussed.
In many of these studies, the authors emphasize that
mobile learning should be used in addition to an existing
learning environment. Learning is not an activity whereby
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B.
Mobile Applications for Chemistry
Organic chemistry students usually struggle with the
content due to its visual nature and its requirement for
various learning skills (visual, logical and mechanical). We
reviewed existing Chemistry educational applications for
iPhone/iTouch devices available in the iTunes store at
website [1, 2, 3]. A large majority of these applications
provide useful information about various chemistry topics
via tools such as color-coded periodic tables, flash cards,
quizzes and links to more information on various websites.
The reference applications do provide a lot of contentspecific information; the periodic tables are color-coded and
allow comparison of various elements based on different
selectable properties. The app store is also full of chemical
problem-solvers, calculators and unit converters. There are
only few applications that go beyond mere retrieval of
information and use features of the iOS platform to their
advantage. None of the applications reviewed, however,
addressed our goal of helping learners recognize molecular
functional groups represented in a variety of chemical
formats.
Functional groups are specific groupings of atoms that
react in particular ways. In organic chemistry, it is important
for students to be able to recognize these groupings in order
to correctly predict how a molecule will react in a certain set
of conditions. Molecules can be represented in a variety of
formats (condensed, line-bond formula, Kékule, etc.) so the
memorization of functional groups has typically been
somewhat difficult for organic students. Without a solid
mastery of functional groups and the ability to recognize
them regardless of the molecular representation, a student
would not be able to pass a course in organic chemistry. It is
akin to not being able to read without the ability to
recognize the alphabet.
The immediate feedback aspect is the reason why
representing functional groups in a dynamic, interactive
setting is important. With traditional paper flashcards,
students are not provided feedback that is tailored to their
needs nor address misconceptions. With a mobile
application, the code can be designed so that a range of
mistakes will elicit a variety of feedback that help guide the
learner towards the correct answer and assist him in
adjusting his erroneous beliefs about a concept.
information is merely absorbed by the user as the device
delivers the content. Indeed, as the learner interacts with all
modes of information (textbook, lecture, online discussions,
etc.), it is thought that the synthesis of the information as the
learner evaluates, understands, and applies the new content
is what makes up the learning experience. Therefore, mobile
devices should be investigated as a promising platform on
which students can access information, but also perhaps
obtain assistance in synthesizing all the sources of content.
The challenge, then, is ““……adapting and appropriating
the technology for learning in a way consistent with learning
goals and principles”” [11]. The device should support the
objectives of the course and be user-friendly enough so that
the learner engages with the content being supported by the
device. As well, the mobile content must be developed in
such a way as to appeal to a wide audience, a large range of
abilities, and varied levels of technological know-how. So,
in the end, when mobile devices are used, they really should
be used as enhancements and supplements to the main
lesson, and not the only way that the lesson is delivered.
Therefore, mobile applications have focused on short,
defined goals or tasks so as to be more effective in capturing
the interest of users and to simplify the mobile device-user
interaction.
The ““one-to-one”” learning [6, 14] afforded by mobile
devices also posits another aspect to be considered in mlearning. The user has a dedicated device that allows him to
engage in an ““active social interaction activity””. This 1:1
ratio of student to computer allows for a more personalized
learning experience tailored to specifically adress the needs
of the student. Therefore it is imperative that the software
involved is capable of dynamically adjusting to the user in
difficulty, appearance, feedback, and engagement, among
many other factors.
One of the theories that informed a large part of this
project is that of ““seamless learning spaces””, explained by
Looi et al (2010). The use of modern technologies enables
today’’s students to share and learn in contexts not bound by
school walls. Communicating with their peers, friends, and
family (and even people they have never met) via avenues
such as Internet, blogs, and social networking sites have
enabled people to learn and gain information from a
multitude of sources. As well, students conduct these
interactions wherever they have their mobile device and
whenever they have access to a cellular or wi-fi network.
Because the learning continues from one context to another,
the theory states that the transitions are ““seamless”” ––
without sudden starts and ends to the process.
Therefore, in designing this project, it was intended that
the mobile application would assist students wherever and
whenever they happened to access the mobile application.
Location and time would not pose as barriers to the learning
experience. Enough structures had to be purposely put into
the application so that the user would be able to learn the
chemistry concept without the traditional lecturer in the
typical classroom.
C. Student Learning Needs in Organic Chemistry
Traditional organic chemistry courses rely on textbooks
and out-of-class problem solving to introduce and convey
the content. With the advent of the Internet, there has been
an increase in websites that offer other alternatives to
mastering the material, with videos, simulations, and
alternate models of visualizing the molecules. However,
none of these modes of learning incorporate the Theory of
Multiple Intelligences [8], which states that there is not one
way to measure intelligence and that humans learn through a
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variety of methods based on their strongest modes of
intelligence. Educators utilize this theory in designing
curriculum in schools today, hoping to capture the greatest
number of students’’ interest and motivation by addressing
the wide variety of learning strengths.
Therefore, a mobile application that is able to
accommodate the widest variety of learning styles would
theoretically be the most useful and transferable of all apps
currently available to the student. In addition, the level of
mastery by each student must also be addressed in an
effective application. Just as students learn via different
modes of learning, students also learn at different paces
depending on a variety of factors, such as intrinsic/extrinsic
motivation, as suggested by [5], and engagement. So the
application must also incorporate the learning theory of
““scaffolded learning””, a theory introduced in the late 1950’’s
by Jerome Bruner. This theory states that people learn new
material best when sufficient support is provided when first
introduced to the material [23]. As familiarity and mastery
increases, the support is gradually removed to increase
independence and incorporation of the new material into the
existing set of and skills possessed by the student.
These two main theories drove the development of
TsoiChem because of the longevity and depth of prior
evidence supporting these learning theories and the fact that
much of science education is based on these two premises.
III.
Figure 1. Structural formula of a ketone, shown in
general format that is typical of textbooks.
O
H3C
CH2CH3
Figure 2. An example of an actual ketone molecule.
This problem arises due to the fact that looking at the
image the user may not necessarily realize or remember that
the corner where the double bond begins represents a carbon
atom and hence may not recognize the CO in CH3COCH3 as
a ketone carbon to oxygen double bond. The molecule is a
very simple example used here for ease of understanding, but
the students may see more complex examples in their exams,
many of which are made up by the professors to increase
their complexity. Hence, if the student were to practice by
identifying and highlighting all three components of the
ketone; the corner representing the carbon atom, the double
bond and the oxygen atom, that would help emphasize such
subtle concepts to the student and thus potentially make
recalling the ketone functional group easier.The
iPhone/iTouch devices, with their multi-touch capabilities,
were hence the best choice to host our application.
It has been long accepted that immediate feedback helps
students self-correct and rectify prior misconceptions [9].
Therefore, the student is forced to find all parts of the
functional group before the app moves to the next task. In
doing so, the app enforces the concept that there are multiple
parts to the functional groups and helps the student
understand what those parts are. As well, many students
repeatedly make the same error –– with TsoiChem, they are
prevented from doing so because the app stays on the same
screen until the correct parts are identified, thus stopping the
misconception from perpetuating in the learner’’s mind.
This app has three modes, as shown in Fig. 3. We
modeled these modes after the theory of ““scaffolded
learning””, whereby learners are first exposed to new
material, then successively work through levels of practice
that gradually remove the ““scaffolds”” or guides that help
reinforce the new content. Many of the available apps do not
address the learning process through a methodological
approach; they simply provide ““easy””, ““medium”” or
““difficult”” levels. After launching the application, the user
can select from ““Practice It””, ““Name It”” or ““Find It”” modes.
TSOICHEM –– THE MOBILE APPLICATION
The goal in creating this mobile application was to
transfer the effectiveness of pen and paper practice methods
to a portable digital device, while also harnessing the power
of the multimedia aspects of the device. Instead of just
creating flash cards of functional groups (the traditional and
most common method of learning this concept in organic
chemistry), in this app students could use the touch-screen
feature and highlight the bonds and atoms. Through this
kinesthetic action, students would learn what the actual
components are that form various functional groups. In
addition, since an electronic device could be programmed to
deliver a large number of examples and problems (quite a bit
more than the number of problems in a traditional textbook),
students can better learn how to identify the functional
groups when shown in a wide variety of different formats.
This is something they could not do with a paper flashcard.
Consider the following example.
Fig. 1 shows a general representation of the structural
formula of the functional group ““ketone””. If a student sees
this representation of a ketone, they will be able to identify
ketone in other similar examples, such as in Fig.2, but may
not be able to identify the same functional group from when
written in the seemingly different format CH3COCH2CH3,
which is the same example as Fig.2, but in a different format.
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Figure 3. The title page of TsoiChem app with the three
modes shown at the bottom.
Figure 4. An example from the ““Name It”” mode.
The third and final mode, the ““Find It”” mode is therefore
the least scaffolded form of practice and provides multiple
examples in various forms to the user, but with no guidance
as to the association between functional group and name.
The user has to identify the correct examples that include the
required functional group, drag those examples one-by-one
and drop them in the bin, as shown in Figure 5.
The bin displays a counter that updates as the examples
are dropped in it. Once all the examples have been correctly
identified the user can move to the next example. As in the
other modes, the examples in this mode are also randomly
chosen. If incorrect examples are dropped in the bin, they
““snap back”” to their original position——just enough feedback
to show user that the choice was incorrect, but not so
negatively as to impact user motivation to try again.
Motivation theory states that there is an affective component
to motivation; if a learner feels negatively towards an
activity, then motivation will decrease and the learner is less
apt to continue with the activity. If any of the examples are
placed anywhere else on the screen they snap back to their
original position. We felt this was an appropriate amount of
feedback to alert the user to their error.
The purpose of the ““Practice It”” mode is to help the user
identify all the components of a functional group, identify
the functional groups in their various forms, and begin to
associate the visual representations with the name. Hence, in
the ““Practice It”” mode, the user is provided with an example,
randomly chosen by the application, and then has to touch
and highlight the atoms and bonds that form a specific
functional group in a molecule. When all the components of
a functional group are indentified, the name of that
functional group is displayed, as well as pronounced
verbally. This is to ensure that the app addressed multiple
learning styles of users, since some may recall information
better visually and some may require an audio component. A
single molecule may contain multiple functional groups. In
such cases, the user has to identify all the functional groups
before proceeding to the next example.
The ““Name It”” mode is designed to help the user selfassess and review the concepts practiced in the ““Practice It””
mode. The ““scaffold”” of providing the name for the user has
been removed. Hence, in the ““Name It”” mode the user is
once again provided with a randomly chosen example and
once again has to highlight atoms and bonds that form the
functional group. When all the components are highlighted,
the user is provided with 4 different name options and must
select the correct name of the functional group from those
options, as shown in Fig. 4. The user gets three chances to
correctly specify the name of the identified functional
groups. In this mode, the user cannot continue to the next
example until all the functional groups in the current
molecule have been identified. This mode requires the user
to identify each functional group correctly and identify the
name of that functional group. Humor is employed as an
extrinsic motivator, as three wrong answers result in the
friendly avatar being blown up by the exploding beaker.
Studies have shown that humor can be effective in easing the
tension of learning and to help students retain information.
Figure 5. An example from the ““Find It”” mode.
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In this mode, the user must be able to accomplish the
three goals of functional group recognition: identify all
atoms/bonds that must be included in a given functional
group, identify the functional group when represented in a
variety of formats, and associate the functional group with its
correct name ––all with no ““scaffolding”” or guidance.
The application provides audio feedback for all the
examples in all the modes, along with visual feedback.
Addressing the multiple ways in which learners take in
information was important to incorporate into the design of
the app. The application also provides tutorials, which also
support the theory of scaffolded learning.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
CONCLUSIONS
[9]
In developing this app for organic chemistry students,
we discovered that there were many more aspects to the
process of learning functional groups than we originally
thought when teaching this concept in the typical lecturestyle classroom. There were fundamental issues regarding
misconceptions, student interpretations of the figures in the
books, and lack of a method of guiding students’’ practice in
contexts outside the classroom. By harnessing the
multimedia, portability, and popularity of mobile devices to
aid in teaching functional groups, we believe we were able to
enhance the classroom instruction that the students received.
Incorporating major learning theories into the design of the
app allowed us to create a seamless learning context whereby
the classroom experience could continue into the students’’
everyday life. TsoiChem takes advantage of the potential mlearning has for organic chemistry courses.
We hope to expand this project to other topics in
organic chemistry, as well as other subjects. We chose
functional groups because it seemed a rather straightforward,
rote memorization chapter. However, we believe that
judiciously incorporating fundamental learning theories into
the design of an app would make it possible for most topics
to be presented via a mobile device.
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported in part by an internal seed grant
from the Office of the Vice President of Educational
Technology, Georgia Gwinnett College.. The authors also
thank the students enrolled in Software Development II
course, namely, Brian Wetzel, Alan Davis, Teresa Lee, Billy
Moua and Daniel Chopson, for their development efforts.
[18]
[19]
[20]
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