e d ~ t e dby JOHN W MOORE
Bits and Pieces, 19 Most authors of Bits a n d Pieces willmake available listings a n d l o r machine-readable versions of their programs. ~ l e a B e read each descriution carefullv to determine compatibility with your own Eomputing en;ironment before requesting materials from a n y of t h e authors. Revised Guidelines for Authors of Bits a n d Pieces appeared in t h e December 1982 a n d December 1983 issues of t h e JOURNAL. T h i s month's Bits a n d Pieces begins with another tested review of a noncommercial teaching program.
POLYMERLAB Fred D. Williams, Michigan Technological University. Houghton. MI 49931
Hardware: Apple II+, 48K, 1 disk drive Software: DOS 3.3, Appleson Level and subject: Senior or graduate polymer lab Available from: Project SERAPHIM. Apple Disk #5; cost $4 fadisk and documentation Review I The adventure game "Polymerlab" is designed for senior and graduate-level students in polymer science. There is no question that students will need a basic understanding of polymer science to complete the game. The player explores a research laboratory, has seven tests run on an unknown oolvmer (IR. DSC. elemental analvsis. vis-
to complete the game rather than having them figure it out for themselves. The subject matter is well covered and very accurate except, however, for the IR spectra which leave a little to be desired and are difficult to interprei. The students' reactions to the eame were mixed. In eeneral all of were not previous adventure game players were often lost and needed help to continue the game. Even the accomplished adventure players spent over 10 hr completing the game. The general feeling of the students was that the game should include information about what was needed tc complete each experiment (far example, when one tries to run the NMR the oroeram could sav "to run an NMR vou need
fun for the students who are not adventure game fanatics. While watching the students play the game, I could see that they were very involved and completely.enjoying themselves except when they got to a point where they did not know what to do next. At this point they needed help t o continue not because of their lack of knowledge of polymer science hut because of their lack of adventure game knowledge. Overall, I think the game is very good. I plan to write up an addi-
game and will allow all of the students to complete the game. I will also make the game available to all of our undergraduate and graduate polymer science students to play on the computer. I like seeing the students playing this game instead of the games (Pac-Man*, etc.) that they generally play.
periments, etc.). There are many problems that must he solved and items found before certain activities, experiments, and tests can he accomplished. One example is: to work in the lab you must have safety glasses, which the thin librarian will only give you if you give her a sandwich (which vou must find!). Tlnrlmentation for adventure eames is alwavs iunfortunatelv?)
tests on the unknown polymer. When the game is started the introduction gives general directions on how to play thegame. As players become familiar with adventure game playing they realize the options available to them. Earlvon, . .however. adventures can seem vervconfusing. One very nice feature is that the game can be saved while in progress and then continued a t alater time. This worked out very well for the students who had only a short amount of time to play at any given session. Also, when completely stumped a student could save the game and go get help. A cheat program (for the instructor to check the students' results) is available. This program must be removed from the student disk! We did not find anv."hues" in the oroaam, althoueh - the orocedure for.seeins awkward. .. .. ~ the test " results ~ was somewhat ~ ~ ~ ~ The ducummtation indicates~hmthegameshmld rake 4-6 hr to play. \Ye iound that to bc w r y unrrawnah.e: it generally took our students 10-20 hr to play (I hope this is not a reflection on our students). I feel that it is too long to use in a classroom or laboratory situation. To use the game as part of a lab course in the future I will give the students additional information about what must be done A
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Materials Science 8 Engineering Polymers Pennsylvania State University 325 Steidie Building University Park, PA 16802 Review II Throughout t h e course of this review, I, a s one who has not ereatlv utilized comuuter materials a s a n inteeral Dart of m v &&ctional effort,'am forced t o contemplate this "wave df t h e future." I a m forced t o think what this new method of education means t o us old educators who did n o t use floppy disks i n our school davs. I used a circular slide rule i n school. b u t was able t o adjust t o t h e calculator revolution, h u t here we a r e talking about greater magnitudes of difference. Does utilization of this new technique mean t h a t an actual hands-on lahoratory experience for t h e student will disappear? With
Summary Ratings
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Journal of Chemical Education
Category
Ease of use Sublect matter content Pedagogic value Student reaction
Revlewer I Gaod Excellent Good Good
Reviewer iI Average Good-excellent Goad-excellent Average
disappearing equipment budgets for expensive specialized laboratory instrumentation such as laser-light scattering or membrane osmometers, one can still "teach" these topics for the cheap price of an Apple IIe. It is also a lot easier since one doesn't have to make up solutions for the osmometer or seek a dust-free environment in which to do light scattering but, instead, only locate an electrical outlet and the necessary software package. The necessary software package in this case was Fred Williams' "Polymerlab." This is an "education adventure game" that has as its purpose the identification of an unknown polymer. One could easily extend this concept to a qualitative or quantitative analysis laboratory and even to a qualitative organic laboratory with its heavy emphasis on spectrosCOPY. The adventure game idea used here is significantly different from "refresher course" or lecture reviewlsupplement packages such as Stanley Smith's "Introduction to Organic Chemistry" [reviewed by Hutchcroft and Susskind, J. CHEM. EDuc., 60, A179 (1983)l. Here, certain data require a library search, simulated laboratory equipment must be accumulated, one must decide how to enter the facility, safety glasses must be located before an experiment can be started, and successful completion of the unknown identification comes about only after the students take the research director's quiz on the unknown. Some students must try to find a lost notebook in order to verify their results. A11 essential ingredients of a laboratory experience are utilized and blended together very creatively to produce an introduction to analytical polymer chemistry. This program is not really intended for the novice but assumes some course work or other experience in polymer chemistry. I t was particularly useful in the situation where I first used it, which was with a group of students in my polymer synthesis advanced undergraduate laboratory. The analytical content of this program makes it a perfect complement to a course that has a heavy organic polymer synthesis emphasis. The students all had had a one-semester introductory lecture course and some were enrolled in a coatings technology degree program. About half way through the course, after the students had successfully carried out step-growth and chaingrowth synthesis reactions, they were charged with the task of using this program to find out the identity of an unknown polymer on their own time over a two-week period. They could sign out the disk a t their convenience. Planned dilute solution viscosity and DSC experiments (which appear in Polymerlab) were dropped from my laboratory schedule in favor of an epoxy synthesis. Four of the better students wrote their observations and feelings on the experience of using the computer in lie11of a "hands on laboratory" experience. One of these four was successful in identifying the unknown and took the quiz in the research director's office. This quiz even incorporated a little of the history of polymer chemistry in it. This student said she spent 10 hr solving the unknown and had to make a map of each of the rooms for positioning of where everything was. Some experiments couldn't be carried out because of difficulty in finding solvents, NMR tubes, or other necessary equipment. In general, the students didn't like having to spend time trying: (1)to figure out how to get into the building; (2) to find where the safety glasses were; (3) to find the viscometer and light-scattering tubes and other "adventure-like" preliminaries before the experiments could be carried out. But, generally, all students seemed to like and enjoy interpreting the data in order to deduce the unknown structure. One student was able to complete only five out of eight experiments, became frustrated in trying to locate equipment, and commented that more printed information such as a list of input statements should accompany the all-too-brief instructions. Such an experience in frustration realistically simulates the difficulties one often encounters in trying to locate some
chemical or piece of equipment in order to do an experiment, and for this reason the lesson in patience is well taught here. The average time the students spent on the program was 7 hr-the lowest 4.5 hr. I intentionally gave them no assistance in running the program or in interpreting the directions. One of my goals was to explore the feasibility of utilizing this experience in the future as a truly independent study project. Onestudent admitted great difficulty in using the 120 or so commands possible and was able to progress only by discussing with the others how they accomplished their success. I noticed there was some spirited discussion between the individuals on various parts of the adventure and only one student thought to "climb a ladder to find a solvent on top of the file cabinet." (Safe chemical storage practices are certainly not taught here.) The students did request that I make some polymer texts available to them while they were using the program, which I did. In retrospect, I think I didn't allow the students sufficient time to investieate their unknowns a t their own Dace. and I would modify k y handling of this assignment in'the future. I would carry out the "hands on" lab synthesis experiments as planned, and a t the beginning of the course give each student an individual copy of the disk with instructions to solve the identity of the unknown polymer by the end of the course. The degree of success each of the students had in identifying the unknown, or in doing the experiments necessary to identify it, parallels the amount of time the students spent with the program. The experiments in the program that replaced the ones I had planned were IR, DSC, viscosity, osmometry, and NMR. We didn't have equipment and I had not planned elemental analysis, light scattering, Raman or electron microscopy. The advantage to tne in using this program w;s lo have additional real laboratory time fc,r polymer synthesis rxnwim(mth. nut nt the same rlmr 1 w>asable. with this CAI project, to incorporate polymer analysis into my course. For this reason. I found the oroeram verv useful. Could this program be used as a complete substitute for a laboratorv- exnerience in oolvmer chemistrv? All students . . answered "no" to this question; they all.seem to enjoy the laboratorv and learning new techniuues. Almost . ex~erience . all felt that i t is a very valuable suppl~~rne~irol e x p w i c n c r and sh
