EXPERIENCES FROM TEACHING LIVE ONLINE CHEMISTRY SUPERLAB CLASSES

The aim of this workshop is to share the good, the bad and the frustrating experiences from the transition to the online chemistry laboratory environment during COVID-19 restrictions. Semester 1, 2020, was going to be an extra exciting and stressful one for me, because Edith Cowan University Joondalup campus opened brand new state of the art science superlabs and my two first-year chemistry units were the first units to run in the superlab environment. There was also additional stress, because after a 2-year trial, I was finally going to implement electronic lab books to both undergraduate chemistry units using Surface Go computers for each student in a 96 superlab capacity. Many months of planning, preparation and organisation resulted in a rather smooth deployment of the OneNote program to all 350+ students and a relatively disaster free transition to the superlab environment, and just as I thought there was nothing to be stressed about……….... on the 23rd of March we were instructed by the University to move all lab classes to the online environment. Luckily for me, that transition was relatively seamless, because of the decision to implement electronic lab books using the OneNote program. My main goal was to try to make the transition from on-campus learning to online learning as smooth and stress free as possible for the students. I was very concerned that my students would find it challenging to learn chemistry without doing laboratory work, which is an integral part of studying chemistry. I wanted to maintain the online lab class environment as realistic as possible, exciting and engaging, and I think I managed to achieve that to some extent. How???? All will be revealed in the workshop. I would also like to use this workshop as an opportunity to share other’s experiences and tribulations with transitioning to teaching chemistry lab classes online this semester

Improved rinsing procedure for samples containing sulfide and organic interferences in determination of arsenic by voltammetry

As part of an ongoing investigation into arsenic (As) analysis by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV), it was found that strong rinsing regimes in between samples could reduce the cumulative effect of organic and sulfide interferences. Longer term effects of this rinsing procedure on the measurement response have been investigated and the procedure optimized to give more a stable response over multiple sample analyses

Trial implementation of Microsoft 365 teams and Onenote in teaching chemistry laboratory classes

The aim of this presentation is to share experiences from the implementation of Office365 Teams and OneNote in teaching laboratory classes in two first year chemistry units at ECU. With the introduction of Office365 into University system and the drive to introduce students to the latest digital innovations and experiences, a trial of Teams and OneNote programs, available through Office365, was implemented in two of first year laboratory chemistry units. OneNote program allows for collaborative digital lab books and instant feedback from the demonstrator on student’s laboratory performance. It allows for data analysis using Excel spreadsheet within OneNote, drawing using digital pen, taking videos and photos and sharing of data between students. Teams allows students to work collaboratively on a project, by allocating each student within a group with specific tasks and due dates and allowing the lecturer to view the progress of each group and provide feedback online. Office365 offers a new platform for academics to teach from and a new learning experience for students. This trial was done to investigate how this new approach to teaching can potentially enhance student’s understanding of chemical concepts and increase the value of laboratory experience for first year chemistry students

Development of an in-field method for the detection of barium in various water samples using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry

This work presents a reliable, cost-effective, rapid and in-field voltammetric method for the detection of barium. The optimized method consists of an ultrathin mercury film deposited in situ on a glassy carbon electrode in dilute potassium chloride without deoxygenation, using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DP-ASV). Application of the method allowed for the quantitative determination of barium concentration in a variety of waters and brake pad dust samples. Comparative analysis of sample results from DP-ASV with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) showed a mean percent difference of 1.8%

Trial implementation of Microsoft 365 teams and Onenote in teaching chemistry laboratory classes

The aim of this presentation is to share experiences from the implementation of Microsoft Office 365 Teams and OneNote in teaching laboratory classes in two first year chemistry units at Edith Cowan University. With the introduction of Microsoft Office 365 into University system and the drive to introduce students to the latest digital innovations and experiences, a trial of Teams and OneNote programs, available through Office 365, was implemented in two of first year laboratory chemistry units. OneNote program allows for collaborative digital design lab books and instant feedback from the demonstrator on student’s laboratory performance through online sharing of electronic lab books. It also allows for data analysis using Excel spreadsheet within OneNote, drawing using digital pen, taking videos and photos and most importantly easy sharing of data between students in the same lab class or other lab classes. Teams allows students to work collaboratively on a project, by allocating each student within a group with specific tasks and due dates and allowing the lecturer to view the progress of each group and provide feedback online. Microsoft Office 365 offers a new platform for academics to teach from and a new learning experience for students. This trial was done to investigate how this new approach to teaching in a laboratory classroom can potentially enhance student’s understanding of chemical concepts and increase the value of laboratory experience for first year chemistry students

Development of a 3-D-printable device for continuous measuring of heavy metal ion concentrations

Three-dimensional (3-D) printing offers the potential to create a range of tailored devices within many different industrial facilities. In this article, devices were designed and fabricated using 3-D printing to house electrodes for the testing of heavy metal concentration in hazardous fluids, particularly for biological samples such as urine or blood. The devices, connected to a syringe pump, were shown to be able to be operated without leaking. Proof of concept experiments were performed using Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) methods, demonstrating that the devices are able to be used for quick, cheap testing, showing the potential of the technique as a more hygienic analysis technique than conventional ASV with an immediacy that standard techniques such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) do not offer. With further development and validation, 3-D-printed ASV techniques may provide a robust, reliable and affordable solution for heavy metal concentration detection in remote locations

Assessment of the effectiveness of ventilation controls in managing airborne and surface lead levels at a newly commissioned indoor shooting range

Lead levels at a new indoor target shooting range were assessed using both personal and environmental air monitoring methods. Surface swabs were collected from representative locations throughout the range prior to, and at the conclusion of, shooting. Personal samples were compared against the current Australian Workplace Exposure Standards with all results exceeding statutory limits. Static environmental samples exceeded the Air National Environmental Protection Measures (NEPM) air quality standard. Surface swabs showed significant increases from pre- to post-shooting with levels exceeding recommended limits. The performance of the mechanical ventilation system was also assessed and airflow levels were below the required rate at all test locations when compared against the values recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Users of the indoor shooting range are at risk of potential exposure to hazardous levels of lead. It was recommended the ventilation system be reviewed by a suitably qualified ventilation engineer to ensure it is operating within the required parameters and able to transport generated lead contaminant away from the shooters breathing zone. A thorough cleaning regime should be implemented by the club to minimise surface lead loadings throughout the facility

Fabrication and optimization of nafion as a protective membrane for TiN-based pH sensors

In this study, a solid-state modified pH sensor with RF magnetron sputtering technology was developed. The sensor consists of an active electrode consisting of a titanium nitride (TiN) film with a protective membrane of Nafion and a reference glass electrode of Ag/AgCl. The sensitivity of the pH sensor was investigated. Results show a sensor with excellent characteristics: sensitivity of 58.6 mV/pH for pH values from 2 to 12, very short response time of approximately 12 s in neutral pH solutions, and stability of less than 0.9 mV in 10 min duration. Further improvement in the performance of the TiN sensor was studied by application of a Nafion protective membrane. Nafion improves the sensor sensitivity close to Nernstian by maintaining a linear response. This paves the way to implement TiN with Nafion protection to block any interference species during real time applications in biosensing and medical diagnostic pH sensors

Transitional approaches to teaching in the superlab environment

PROBLEM With the completion of Building 15 in 2020, for the first time at Edith Cowan University (ECU), undergraduate students had the opportunity to learn hands-on practical skills in a SuperLab environment.  Moving from smaller classes into more open-plan learning environments requires a shift in thinking on behalf of both the student and the teacher.  Teaching styles and training techniques will need to be modified in order to encourage skill development and present novel opportunities for student engagement. PLAN This project set out to capture the student experience, via questionnaires and focus groups, across a diverse range of student cohorts transitioning into the SuperLabs in 2020.  Five ECU Academics (Balmer, Berry, Wajrak, Gough and Phillips) commenced teaching in the SuperLabs with a diverse cohort of students from a variety of units across chemistry, genetics and biomedical sciences. The plan for this project was to seek and probe students’ perceptions and experiences of learning in the SuperLabs. ACTION Students’ experiences in the SuperLabs were captured, via an online questionnaire deployed using Qualtrics, across a diverse range of student cohorts, for both students commencing studies and those with previous experience of the smaller laboratory environment, to understand how the two lab environments compared, with regard to their learning experience.  35 survey questions were designed using Likert scale, multiple-choice, emojis to convey emotions and extended comments. The dominant finding of this project was that the results obtained were highly dependent on students’ previous laboratory experience, i.e., whether they were students whose first laboratory environment was the SuperLab or students who had previously studied in other smaller lab classes (24 student capacity). Overwhelmingly, the data showed that students value and prefer the new SuperLab environment and had mostly positive experiences, however, when we drilled down to individual responses, students identified some important issues which were detrimental to their learning, such as: not being able to hear instructions, could not see the demonstrator, uncomfortable chairs, not enough demonstrators to assist, significantly harder to concentrate with so many students around and a lot more noise. REFLECTION These findings are important and need to be considered when designing teaching plans for the SuperLab environment. It is crucial that teaching staff are aware of issues which have a negative impact on students’ learning in the SuperLab environment and think about how to best overcome those problems