Blogs

ChemEd X contributors offer their ideas and opinions on a broad spectrum of topics pertaining to chemical education.

Blogs at ChemEd X reflect the opinions of the contributors and are open to comments. Only selected contributors blog at ChemEd X. If you would like to blog regularly at ChemEd X, please use our Contribution form to request an invitation to do so from one of our editors.

blog
text: Geometric Approach to Lewis Structures (over 3D models and lewis structures)
Geometric Approach to Lewis Structures
// Tuesday, April 12, 2016 • Lauren Stewart
If you look at any chemistry textbook, you will see Lewis structures introduced long before electronic and molecular geometries. This makes sense since you need Lewis structures to determine molecular geometry.
AACT
AACT GOVERNING Board Elections 2016
// Saturday, April 9, 2016 • mamorgan@me.com
I wonder how many of the ChemEdX readers are also members of AACT? The American Association of Chemistry Teachers has been a long time coming and is in its second year of operation now.
ap exam date May 2
What do you do for AP Chemistry review?
// Monday, April 4, 2016 • Tracy Schloemer
It’s review season for AP courses! I have a love/hate relationship with the date of the AP Chemistry exam. On one hand, it’s SO early. On the other hand, because it’s the first exam, my students actually study for it (compared to later in the AP exam season when students are like, “I’m done. I don’t care anymore.”).
Smartphone spectrophotometer
Use Your Smartphone as an "Absorption Spectrophotometer"
// Wednesday, March 30, 2016 • Tom Kuntzleman
A smartphone can be used in a remarkably simple and inexpensive way to teach your students about absorption spectroscopy and Beer’s Law. In short, light reflected off of colored construction paper is passed through a sample and detected by an RGB application on a smartphone.
coding
Coding in Chemistry
// Wednesday, March 23, 2016 • Lauren Stewart
Computer coding has been getting a lot of attention with the Hour of Code movement and President Obama’s recent “Computer Science for All” initiative. Just like it is no longer solely the job of the English teacher to teach language and communication skills, it is no longer solely the job of the computer science teacher to teach programming skills.
periodic table apps
Not All Periodic Tables are the Same?
// Tuesday, March 22, 2016 • Doug Ragan
Upon sharing my array of apps with some future chemistry teachers, they asked why so many Periodic Tables?  My response was “Well not all periodic tables are the same”, upon which was followed by several blank stares… Let me explain:  I currently have the following periodic table apps loaded on my iPad:
Tell me a story
Tell Me a Story
// Tuesday, March 22, 2016 • Sarah Kong
Let’s get a coffee and you can tell me your story. Let me explain why I don’t have my homework. Our data might not look good, but wait till you hear what happened!