Imparting Basics of Chemistry Online

There is a preconceived notion that although online media has changed approaches to learning making it convenient for students and tutors, not all subjects can be taught effectively online. The belief is that you do need at some point a physical intervention of a teacher. It seems plausible that Mathematics can be taught more easily without a teacher physically present than Chemistry or the other Sciences. But this belief does not take into account the factor of multisensory learning that can be used in technology as well. Nevertheless the basic concepts of Chemistry can be taught very effectively online. Apart from giving the definitions of concepts diagrams can help students to associate concepts with the way they are presented.
Flowcharts can be used to systematize the study of concepts like atoms, molecules, ions and equilibrium. The online tutor, while using flowcharts must not make items appear over crowded. For example you need not have a definition of chemical reaction in a flowchart. Instead you can have one keyword say ‘transformation’ that represents the essence of a chemical reaction. It leads to questions in the student’s mind as in which entity gets transformed and under what conditions. Flowchart is an algorithmic presentation of concepts and processes. The connections are represented in the form of arrows. Although flowcharts are associated with computers to a large extent, they can be used in any subject where linear approaches help establish a knowledge-network.
Another way of teaching Chemistry online is using colours as teaching aids. Colours can also be used as learning aids for students. For a tutor, knowledge of the psychology of colour helps. But do know that mixing colours are subjectively effective in that a certain combination of colours will stimulate one learner but not necessarily another. Some students might prefer pictures of plants and animals to relate to the subject while some may prefer objects or simply flowcharts. Understanding your student’s psychology will help you choose the appropriate teaching aids.
Remember that periodic table is a recurrent topic in Chemistry. The tutor needs to highlight the recurrent topics so that reference reinforces the concepts in students. Remind your students that Chemistry is not just manageable but extremely exciting as well. Chemistry may appear very abstract at first but with the usage of learning aids the study of Chemistry can become a preoccupation and a useful one at that.