CHEMISTRY 351 GENERAL CAL INFORMATION   Last modified:

TROUBLESHOOTING? (Plugins needed etc)

You should have registered in a 1 hour / week tutorial in the Organic CAL in ScA 204.   

NOTE : You are only assured of access to a computer in SA 204 in your registered time slot, in the event that the room is full, then those registered at that time with always have preference.

Link to CAL TUTORIAL TIMES

Use the tutorial times to work on:

• Tutorial problems
• In class problems (including questions asked using CPS)
• On line review materials
• talk chemistry with the TA
• CAL self assessments that you should complete, ideally after you have worked through the online review materials. These are for practice.
• CAL assignments (to be completed in specific weeks in SA 204). These are graded and contrubute to your coursemarks.

ALL are there to help you learn.

The self assessments and the assignments are run online using TOPCLASS, a course management system. Note that at the times when we are running the assignments, you will not be able to access from TopClass from outside SA 204.

We believe too many students struggle with Chem 351 because they don't use this time effectively or wisely or with a view to the long term goals.
Go to CAL each week and get involved !

CAL SELF ASSESSMENTS

What is a "self assessment" ? A "self assessment" helps you measure your learning progress without is counting towards your coursemark. It's a way to practice.

The self assessments cover the basic concepts we expect you to understand and you should be able to complete the assessments quickly. Note that many of the questions are similar to those that you may encounter on examinations.

If you "abuse" the self assessments (e.g. just copy answers from friends, don't complete them etc.) then you will probably FAIL the course because you will FAIL the examinations.  You need to know HOW to answer these questions YOURSELF.

If you work through the review materials first, and are up to date with the course reading and notes, you should be able to complete most of each self assessment without going to a book or your notes, and in 1-2 hours or less.

If you can't, then you need to study more and / or improve your study / work habits or you are in danger of failing the examinations.

A more specific outline  of the CAL self assessments is provided. (i.e. coverage, links to materials, recommended times)

Most of the review material relates to the Carey On-line Learning Center (OLC). This means there is not enough time for you to look at every single page and you will need to plan where you spend your time. If you "know" a topic, move on to something you still need to work on.

More about the actual self assessments.....

• They are essentially on-line worksheets, some have time limits to promote the primary learning.
• You can access each CAL self assessment as often as you like, your work will be saved (this is why we deliver the questions one by one).
• Once you have submitted the self-assessment you can view your score and resubmit it after you have corrected any mistakes you have made.
  
• If there is a problem working the self assessment then you should consult Dr. Hunt

CAL ASSIGNMENTS

The assignments cover concepts that we expect you to understand. Note that many of the questions are similar to those that you may encounter on examinations.

The assignments are to be completed in specific weeks in SA204 under examination conditions, please bring picture ID.

The assignments have 50 minute time limits (that's the length of a CAL time slot).

If you work through the review materials first, and are up to date with the course reading, notes, questions etc. then you should be able to complete the assessment in the time allowed.

If you can't, then you need to study more and / or improve your study / work habits or you are in danger of failing the examinations.

A more specific outline  of the assignments is provided. (i.e. coverage, links to materials, timetable of availability and deadlines)

Most of the review material relates to the Carey On-line Learning Center (OLC). This means there is not enough time for you to look at every single page and you will need to plan where you spend your time. If you "know" a topic, move on to something you still need to work on.

In Chem 353 W08, there was a strong direct correlation between students scores on the assignments and their examination performance. So if you are struggling with the assignments, you should take that as a warning and work towards fixing the problems as soon as possible.

More about the actual assignments.....

• They are essentially time limited on-line worksheets run under examination conditions.
• You can only complete each assignment from SA 204.
• Once you have submitted the assignment it will be graded automatically and scores will be available the hext week.
  
• If there is a problem working the self assignment then you should consult Dr. Hunt

WHY ON-LINE ?

• In general, based on previous experiences, traditional paper quizzes are NOT as effective as a learning tool because:

• Large classes limit the "size" of paper quizzes due to grading / grade collection time.
• Paper "quizzes" are usually too short to be an effective learning tool.
• Many students don't pick up paper quizzes and so don't get the useful feedback on their mistakes, so they can't correct them.
• Grading inconsistencies by human markers.

• More questions can be asked giving broader coverage.
• Grading and feedback is automated.
• Graded work is returned automatically so there are no excuses for not reviewing your work.
• Grading is consistent.

OTHER ISSUES

• Questions are given one at a time to speed download times.
• Questions are given one at a time so that previous work is saved when you move on to the next question.
• The best way to use CAL is to work through the linked review materials, then complete the exercise.