Posted by T. Griffin on Mar 3, 2010 in
Uncategorized On Thursday, March 4, 2010, Gene Smith and I will be giving two presentations on the use of the smartboard sympodium in Holly 214. The presentations will begin at 8:30 and 10:30.
We will focus on ways the sympodium can be used to improve classroom instruction at WCC. Some of the items that will be discussed include:
How to use the sympodium’s electronic ink capture feature.
How to save your power points as a wmv file that can include both audio and video information that can be uploaded to blackboard for student review.
The use of WCC’s audio server and Audacity with Blackboard.
The use of WCC’s Libraries electronic media service.
The use of a WCC faculty web page and twitter as an instructional aid.
How Twitter can be used as a method of classroom social interaction and as a class management tool.
So if these topics are of interest to you, then stop by Holly 214 to find out more.
ATG
Posted by T. Griffin on May 17, 2009 in
Uncategorized
Get a Voki now!
Posted by T. Griffin on Oct 22, 2008 in
CHM 151 Articles There are quite a few examples of the periodic table on the internet. Two of the best can be found at Theodore Gray’s Periodictable.com and the Journal of Chemical Education’s Peroidic Table Live. Dr. Gray is the co-founder of Wolfram Research, Inc. He writes a monthly column for Popular Science magazine and has created a popular periodic table poster that you can order from his website.
Periodic Table Live is a part of the Chemical Education Digital Libray that wants to provide digital resources and tools to help with the teaching of chemistry.
If happen to find a useful periodic table on the internet – please feel free to let me know about it.
ATG
Posted by T. Griffin on Oct 22, 2008 in
CHM 152 Articles,
Uncategorized A recent What’s that Stuff? article in the February 5, 2007 issue of C & E News revealed some interesting facts about honey. Did you know that China is the largest producer of honey at about 700 million pounds each year. A bee makes a very small amount of honey during its lifetime – only about 1/12 of a teaspoon.
For more interesting facts about honey - checkout the complete article. It will leave you with a sweet sensation.
ATG
Posted by T. Griffin on Oct 22, 2008 in
CHM 151 Articles A recent article in the Gold Bulletin by Georg Steinhauser, a chemistry post doc at Vienna University of Technology in Austria decided to measure the amount of gold lost by his wedding ring each week during his first year of marriage.
At the end of the first year, his ring had lost a total of 6.15 mg of gold an average of 0.12 mg each week. Steinhauser plans to complete a long term study of the lost of gold from his wedding ring, now weighing the ring once every six months. With the price of gold as high as it is – that may be a real loss.
ATG
Posted by T. Griffin on Oct 22, 2008 in
Uncategorized In the September 15, 2008 issue of C & E News there was an article about a new set of videos featuring the elements of the periodic table. The videos are available on either YouTube or at Periodic Videos. This website may be an option for schools that block access to YouTube.
The star of the videos is Martyn Poliakoff, a chemistry professor at the University of Nottingham. He introduces each element and describes its chemical properties and uses in the real world.
I have chosen to include the video for sodium – Na as an example of Professor Poliakoff and his team’s efforts.
Please enjoy and I hope that you will begin to learn more about the periodic table.
ATG
Tags: CHM 151
Posted by T. Griffin on Oct 18, 2008 in
CHM 152 Articles A recent book review in the June 30, 2008 issue of C & E News looked at one of my favorite foods – Chocolate. The article reviews the second edition of Stephen P. Beckett’s book The Science of Chocolate. Just imagine a whole book devoted to the science of chocolate.
This past summer I was the “mad scientist” for my wife’s vacation bible school where the theme was Rain Forest Adventure and one of the things that I talked about were foods that were found in the Amazon Rain Forest including chocolate. As I prepared for my “show and tell” I realized just how little I knew about the production of chocolate. Maybe reading his book will do the trick.
Will someone please tell my wife to add this book to my Christmas list. ISBN: 978-0-85404-970-7.
Thanks,
ATG
Tags: American Chemical Society, C and E News
Posted by T. Griffin on Oct 14, 2008 in
World View Welcome to WCC Faculty Sites.
In the spring of 2007 World View and UNC’s Center for Global Initiatives (CGI) began a program of grants for North Carolina community college instructors to infuse global elements into the courses they teach. This grant program is funded by CGI and organized by World View.
I thought that adding a World View module to my CHM 151 was great idea so I submitted my proposal today to the folks in Chapel Hill.
My grant proposal is shown below. Please feel free to share your comments with me or resources that I might be able to use in this Endeavour.
Over the last four years, I have noticed that about 10-15% of the students in my chemistry classes have foreign ethnic backgrounds. This fall semester, I have students from the Ukraine, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Latin America.Despite these influences, many of my students are unaware of the importance that chemistry plays in the global community and the many chemistry-related jobs that are available right here in eastern North Carolina especially in the fields of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
To help my students become more aware of the global impact of chemistry world-wide, I propose to add four cultural modules to their study of chemistry. The four cultural modules would focus on the following areas:
The United States-North Carolina. How does chemistry affect the economy of eastern North Carolina? Do my students know that pharmaceutical companies like GlaxoSmithKine and Merck and Co. call North Carolina home?
Europe-Germany. Germany is generally considered the birthplace of modern organic chemistry. Pharmaceutical companies like Bayer and Beohringer-Ingelheim also got their start in Germany.
The Far East-China. With its emerging economy often in the news, China is becoming known for consumer products contaminated with melamine and lead contaminated toys.
Latin America-Mexico. Latinos continue to be one of the fastest growing populations in North Carolina. What affect will this influx of people have on the chemical industry?
Instruction for each module:
Students will explore the following issues:
Chemistry in that country’s economy.
Major chemical industries in the country.
Chemistry Nobel Prize Winners that region.
The future of chemistry in that country.
Interactive Talks or Videos:
North Carolina – Pharmaceuticals (P H, a current chemistry student will talk with students and answer questions about what it is like to work as a laboratory supervisor at Merck & Co. in Wilson, NC).
Germany – Career Opportunities (D L, a PhD Chemist and technical consultant based in Germany will talk about what it is like to be an American working abroad in the field of chemistry in Europe).
China – Chemical Engineering Internships (R P, an NCSU student who recently completed a chemical engineering internship with the largest paper production plant in China will talk about his experiences in working abroad in China this past summer).
Mexico – Chemistry (I am attempting to find someone who can talk about the current chemical industry in Mexico).
Discussion Boards
Following the development of an appropriate set of discussion questions, the discussion board feature of Blackboard will be used to allow students to give their own thoughts concerning the impact of the chemical industry throughout the world and the four countries that we are focusing on in each module.
One discussion board question might ask the following: What economic factors do you think led Chinese companies to add melamine to products sold in the United States and what should the federal government do about this problem?
Assessment
After completion of the units, appropriate assessment questions will be developed to test the student’s knowledge concerning the impact of the chemical industry throughout today’s world.
One type of assessment question, might ask the students to reflect on the influences that countries like Germany and China have had on the economic future of North Carolina?
Ashton T. Griffin
Chemistry Instructor
Wayne Community College