The more we do, the less they do..? Effective use of technology in chemistry education

The use of technology in chemistry education is becoming increasingly prevalent and the education literature has many examples of the use of technology in various forms: virtual learning environments, online homework, clickers, etc, reporting a positive effect on the use of a given technology innovation. However, there is evidence to show that many of these technologies are often at early adopter stage. A factor in this may be the fact that there is often a sense among teaching staff that incorporation of technology requires a lot of work on their behalf that may not yield any noticeable enhancements of student learning. This presentation aims to discuss what role technology can play in chemistry education illustrated with examples from the author’s own practice.1-4 The decision to include technology or not is one grounded in pragmatism, where any expected gain in learning is considered in the context of the time required to develop and integrate a given technology into teaching. Key principles for good practice in design of learning resources from a cognitive load theory perspective will be highlighted.