turn to make the selection. In some suh- menus, the number of the choice must be entered to make a selection. Remembering which selection method to use in the differ- ent parts of the program is somewhat an- noying. Students can request help by re- sponding to questions with the word "help" or by hittingafunction key. In some parts of the program the help utility skillfully leads the students to the correct answer in two or three steps. In many other parts, requesting help gives the first letter of the response or provides the correct answer immediately. Users can also press a function key to access a simple calculator. One shortcoming of the program communication is the inconsistent me of ea~onential notation. Exuonential .. ~~~ .~ ~

nornrmn w arceprad for some responses hut not orhem and t h ~ ~ ~ l c u l a t o r will n<,t ma- nipulate numbers in exponential natatiun. Another inconvenience arises from the pro- gram's inability to page forward or hack during a lesson. Users cannot review a con-. cept or skip introductory material and begin a drill immediately. Error handling is gener- ally good. Synonyms of the expected re- sponse are often recognized and "near miss" answers are often guided to the correct re- ply.

Documentation consists of a 10-page in- structor's guide, two pages of installation and technical notes, and a three-page stu- dent guide. The instructor's guide explains the program philosophy and briefly summa- rizes the lesson content. The installation guide and technical notes provide instruc- tions for installation and suggestions for us- ing non-EGA or non-VGA displays. While the program can he run without EGA or VGA graphics capabilities, it is not recom- mended and the instructions seem prohibi- tively laborious. The package ran success- fully on IBM PSI2 computers and IBM compatibles with VGA graphics, but some problems were encountered using comput- ers with EGA graphics. On computers with IBM-compatible EGA adapters, the bottom line of text did not appear, making many lessons impossible to complete. Installation on a hard disk system was straightforward, althouzh the installation instructions were not. Facility w r h nrmputer tile manipula- tion and computer jargon is a prerequisite for performing the procedure. The progrnm also can he run from five separate 3.5-in. floppy disks, each containing one of the five sections of the package. The student guide is provided as a disk file and can he modified with site-specific instructions. This file must he printed with a LaTeX word proces- sor or modified extensively before use, how- ever.

Student response to Chem 1 Concept Builder was enthusiastic, with some notable reservations. Students who had not used computer software in their chemistry class- es volunteered to evaluate the package. They were excited about using a software package to learn chemistry and thought that this one was fun. When asked to give the program a letter grade, students responded with A's or B's, giving a cumulative GPA of 3.44. The mast popular lessons covered the periodic table and acid-hase behavior. Some students obiected to the lessons on the

scientific method and definitions of science, pseudoscience, chemistry, and physics. These sections were perceived as unclear snd computer responses given as correct were thought to be highly debatable. I also thought that some gray areas were present- ed in very stark black-and-white. Student reaction was mixed in predicting how help- ful the software would be in improving or speeding up the learning process. Some thought the software was fun but would not really help them to learn more or to learn faster. Others believed i t would help them a great deal. Students also painted out several pedagogical problems, some of whieh are de- scribed below.

Several problems in content present po- tential confusion for students. For example, sections on buoyancy and apparent weight might leave a student frustrated. Users are asked to calculate the apparent weight (in water) of a 2-mL hlock of aluminum with a true weight of 5.4 g. While the calculation is not difficult, a clear explanation of apparent weight has not heen given up to this point and is onlv offered as oart of the helu func- tion. In n dracutsicrn of potential energy in chemical hmdi , the tutorial nqks n h e r h ~ r the purential energy of two hydrogen nrums is lower when they are close together or far apart. The response accepted is that the po- tential energy is lower for two atoms close together. Consulting the graph of potential energy versus internuclear distance shown in anv text will tell a student that the uoten- ~~ ~ , rial energy iszero at infinite reparation, dr- oeasea t u a minimum at the bond disrnnre. and inrreaaea rapidly as the atoms move closer together. T h e program's answer seems to be incomplete, a t best, and mis- leading, a t worst.

Instructors may find the pedagogical techniques lacking in some parts of the pro- gram. Incorrect answers are greeted by NONSENSE!, COME NOW!, and a large, red WRONG!! The help function could he improved to give more clues that encourage students to think carefully about each proh- lem. Giving students the correct answer im- mediately does not encourage them to infer theanswer from what is known. When auser requests help in answering a multiple choice question, the program instructs "just guess". This response does little to encour- age careful consideration of the choices. In one spot, the program alludes to a difficult concept and then states "If thisis all beyond you, don't worry; all you need to know for this course i s . . .". If a concept is worth in- cluding, the program should do so clearly and correctly. If i t is too advanced, it should he left out. Why demoralize students by making them think that what they are try- ing to learn is beyond them? This type of statement appears in more than one section of the program.

Chem 1 Concept Builder has the potential to be a useful tool in an introductory college chemistry class. I t provides broad coverage of material and could he used easily and flexibly throughout the course. The pro- gram's somewhat clumsy operation and pedagogical problems detract from an ath- erwise servieeahle package. While some of these problems generate minor irritation,

others detract more seriously from the pro- gram's intent.

Sally R. Hair Allegheny Collage

Meadville. PA 16335

SHAPEaQSHAPE Eric Dowiy, Shape Software. 521 Hidden Valley Road, Kingspurt, TN 37663

Hardware: IBM PCIXTIAT, PSI2 Components: Manual and 4 disks Level and Subject: Advanced. Crystal hawing Cost: $145

Summary Ratings: category

Ease of Use: AverageIOwd SubjeclMarterConlenl: Gaod Pedagogic Value: Gad Student Reaction: Average

Features and Intent

These menu-driven programs are written to enahle one to draw single crystals, most twins, epitaxial intergrowths and quasicrys- tals. The drawings can he viewed on a moni- tor, printed, or plotted. The technical mat- ter seems to he geared to the advanced un- dergraduate or graduate student or higher. Those who will find i t useful, aside from some of the more obvious instructional and mineralogical settings, would be those for whom quickly produced, accurate drawings would aid in either presentation or visual- ization of micro surface effects of twinned crystals on chemical reactions. For example, those doine research with ohotaeraohic ,. . emulaions may find applicatims. One can "play" wrth porsihle cumbinatiunr of twinr to compare outcomes with either observed or theoretical possibilities. However, most "chemical" crystallographers who primarily perform routine 3-D molecular structure de- terminations, and for whom twinning is of- ten more of a nuisance than a uhenomenon to hestudied in detail, may finh b u ~ limited use of these programs. If the approarh ro a crystallography rourse is more along these "strurtural dererminarion ss n means roan end" linps, the software will likely have hut limited usefulnesx. The softuare is neither intended nor designed to he a primer on Miller indices, twinning, etc. These ideas need to he well understood before using the programs.

Ease of Use

Documentation is provided in the form of a 54-page booklet which gives a number of examples a t the end of the hook rather than integrated along with the explanation of each function. This forces the user either to read and try to learn something of all of the many functions before trying out the pro- gram or flip back and forth in the manual to

A20 Journal of Chemical Education

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