Resumen de ATRP Kinetic Simulator: An Online Open Resource Educational Tool Using Jupyter Notebook and Google Colaboratory
Yu Wang, Manyu Li, Xiang-Sheng Wang, Amanda Gildersleeve, Nadia Turki
This study reported the application of an interactive Open Education Resource, namely, an open virtual experiment simulator education tool (OVESET), in teaching the kinetics of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in a polymer science classroom. The OVESET ATRP kinetic simulator aims at improving students’ inductive reasoning skills. Students were encouraged to perform virtual experiments to systematically examine the influence of each parameter, e.g., type of polymerization and concentrations of reagents, and to observe and make logical explanations of the general trends behind each series of experiments. The tool was designed to maximize accessibility and flexibility through open licensing. The simulator runs under the Jupyter Notebook environment, which is free to use, modify, and redistribute; therefore, instructors can adapt the simulator based on their teaching contexts. The simulator can be applied in a classroom setting without requiring any software installation and can be used across different operating systems. Assessment of the implementation demonstrated that students’ learning outcomes and STEM and polymer science identity were improved. Students also rated the tool as useful in increasing their understanding and inductive reasoning. The quick and in-place response of the notebook makes it ideal for both in-class demonstrations and after-class practices. The tool is freely available at https://bit.ly/ATRP-Simulator.
