Lifelong Learning Programme

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TEACHING RESOURCES INFORMATION

TITLE OF TEACHING RESOURCE
CHEMNET
IMAGE
NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
Dr Tim O'Sullivan, University College Cork
Dr Grainne Hargaden, Dublin Institute of Technology
NAME OF PRODUCER
Dr Tim O'Sullivan, University College Cork and
Dr Grainne Hargaden, Dublin Institute of Technology, supported by NAIRTL (National Academy for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning) and Chemaxon for the use of MarvinSketch
DATE OF PRODUCTION
2011
TYPE OF PRODUCT
Online course
LEVEL OF CHEMISTRY KNOWLEDGE
Advanced
PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
Problem solving, Modelling
SUBJECT AREA
Fundamental Chemistry, Life Chemistry, Health Science
TARGET GROUP LEVEL
Upper Secondary School
LANGUAGE/S OF TEACHING RESOURCES
English
TUTORIAL SUPPORT
Yes
DESCRIPTION
Chemnet is a Web Based Learning system for online teaching and assessment of organic chemistry. The system can be integrated with either the Blackboard and Moodle learning systems in conjunction with the MarvinSketch molecular drawing application.
This website has been developed primarily for use by junior undergraduate students but would also be applicable in some senior second level courses. It includes an open source question bank for flexible on-line teaching and learning and incorporates the use of SMILES ((Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry Specification) which is an algorithm for converting chemical structures unambiguously to ASCII strings which are machine readable. Complex molecules incorporating chiral centres as well as reaction intermediates may be represented.
Marvin Sketch is a chemical editor application from Chemaxon which readily converts chemical structures to SMILES strings.
The package is free for academic use and importantly can be delivered over the web to a Java-enabled browser (i.e. platform independent).
Therefore, a combination of a WBL system and MarvinSketch allows students to draw structures and generate the corresponding SMILES strings and thereby provides an inexpensive, flexible alternative to commercial packages.
The material is particularly suitable for users of virtual learning environments like Moodle or Blackboard.
The Question Bank covers the following topics:
Alkanes and Nomenclature
Alkenes
Alkynes
Alkyl halides
Alcohols
Amines and Epoxides
Carbonyl Chemistry - Aldehydes and Ketones
Carboxylic acids and derivatives
Aromatics
Feedback, in the form of full solutions to all questions, is also provided.
A .zip archive of the above material is available to instructors on request from the author at the following address: [email protected]
COMMENTS
The authors are to be commended for the work they have put into this site, and also for making it accessible to their peers. There are clear, illustrated 'how-to' guides which can also be downloaded in pdf format.
NAME OF THE REVIEWING ORGANISATION
Limerick Institute of Technology

Comments about this Publication

Your comments are welcome


Date: 2014.08.05

Posted by M. J. Afonso (Portugal)

Message: My comment is related to the ACD MarvinSketch software, a chemical editor application from Chemaxon software that allows drawing chemical structures. It’s easy to use and there are two versions available, a commercial and a free one for academic use.
With this software, it’s possible visualize 2D and 3D structures and calculate some molecular properties, like molecular weight, density, molecular surface area, solubility, etc. This application allows students to derivate the name of the organic molecules under study and, at the same time, to evaluate their own knowledge of nomenclature.
The “3D viewer” and “Convert Name to Structure /Convert Structure to Name” functionalities are valuable points in this software. Also, the “Structure Checker” is an important tool because when something is wrong with the structure, an automatic check is made.
It contains templates of several types of molecules and it can be easily employed for writing chemical equations and for the preparation of a laboratory manual.
This software is distributed only in English.

Date: 2013.01.26

Posted by Iwona Krawczyk - Kłys (Poland)

Message: I myself and my students loved MarvinSketch
an advanced chemical editor for drawing chemical structures,queries and reactions. It allows users to quickly draw molecules through basic functions on the GUI and advanced functionalities such as sprout drawing, customizable shortcuts, abbreviated groups, default and user defined templates and context sensitive popup menus. WHat is more, MarvinSketch has a rich support for atom and bond properties. Users can assign stereochemistry, charge, valence, radicals and isotopes to each atom. Single, double, triple bonds and aromatic forms are supported. Moreover using wedge bonds user can assign stereochemistry to atoms. Additional data fields can also be attached to atoms, via “S-group” logic so that any user defined information can be stored directly with the structural information. You can draw single step reactions in MarvinSketch by placing a reaction arrow in any position, pointing in any direction in relation to reaction products. The structures ‘in front’ of the arrow will be recognized as reactants, structures ‘above’ the arrow as agents, and structures behind as products. Atoms can be automatically or manually mapped using the arrow function. Atom lists, bond lists, not lists, generic atoms, R-groups, lone pairs are among the query building features available in MarvinSketch. Link nodes, repeating units, pseudo atoms and homology groups, S-groups with attached data are also supported. SMARTS rules allow users to define any specific or generic queries.
I recommend this tool but for adavnced students of chemistry or medicine.

National Reports on successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry The national reports on chemistry successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry are now available on the related section of the project portal. The reports presents examples of successful experiences in the partner countries and the results of testing of ICT resources with science teachers.

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