Designing a Mobile Application for Conceptual Understanding

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a mobile application (app) created as a learning tool to help organic chemistry students increase their conceptual understanding of a given topic. The learning needs of organic chemistry students studying the unit “functional groups” were first identified, appropriate learning theories were chosen, and then a working prototype of the mobile application “TsoiChem©” was designed and created using Apple’s iOS Software Development Kit. An iterative development process incorporated several learning theories along with the chemistry students’ feedback into the app’s design so as to best leverage the multi-touch feature of the device. This paper also discusses the preliminary data on the effectiveness of the design elements on student perceptions of the app and students’ conceptual understanding. Future directions for the app and this study are also presented.

The future role of mobile learning and smartphones applications in the Iraqi private universities

“…Medical students can find anatomy app a useful tool for learning. Also, mobile apps help in astronomical supervision and phenomena and those that mimic the lab environment for students of organic chemical departments and many others ( (Suki 2013); (Fraknoi 2011); (Dekhane and Tsoi, 2012)).…”

A Mobile Learning Overview by Timeline and Mind Map

“…The 'Technology' branch of the Mind Map 2010.) Other major science classifications addressed by mobile learning include chemistry (Dekhane & Tsoi, 2012) and biology (Liu et al, 2009). Subjects from science subclasses have included nuclear power (Chang, Wu & Hsu, 2013) while subclasses from the social sciences have included awareness of traffic violations (Lan & Huang, 2012.…”

University Students’ Experiences of the Use of Mlearning as a Training Resource for the Acquisition of Biomechanical Knowledge

“…However, in the context of advanced and university education in general, the evidence is rather scarce. Foreign languages are the subjects that have most frequently adopted mLearning [26,27], and there have also been initiatives specifically aimed at the use of mobile applications in the sphere of sciences [28] and specific subjects such as mathematics or chemistry [29,30]. In recent years, as the number of sensors incorporated into smartphones has increased, making it possible to use those devices as experimental tools, there have been multiple proposals for the use of telephones in some areas of physics, such as mechanics [31][32][33][34][35], optics [36], electromagnetism or radioactivity [37,38], to the extent that, in 2012, the official publication of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) incorporated a specific section on the experimental resources provided by mobile telephones.…”