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(man) Finally, I wanted to talk a little bit about
the technological tools that we'll use in Chem 332
particularly for those of you
who may be a little bit anxious
about using new technology with the course.
The reason we use technology in the course
is not to replace or supplant learning
but to enhance it as I'll talk about in more detail later.
The program you'll make most use of is called ACE Organic.
It's a software program built around
a java-based chemical drawing engine called MarvinSketch,
and basically it's software
for solving organic chemistry problems.
We've built hundreds of problems into ACE
and hundreds more came built in
and allows you to get instant feedback and grade tracking
along with answering problems.
ACE possesses a variety of keyboard shortcuts
and other tricks
that you can use to very quickly generate molecular structures,
mechanisms and the like,
and we've put together a repository of ACE tutorials
at the URL you see here.
You'll want to become proficient at ACE especially for the exams.
A second tool we'll make use of is called WebMO
and this is web-based software
that allows you to calculate molecular orbitals
of small molecules.
You can build a molecule and then optimize its geometry
and then run a variety of calculations
on that optimized geometry
to gain more information about the reactivity
or behavior of the molecule.
For instance, you can calculate MOs;
you can calculate the dependence of confirmation on energy;
you can calculate spectroscopic properties and others.
We'll also use Jmol which is a java-based molecular viewer
that you can use to both view and now build molecules
in three dimensions.
This is very useful for studies of stereochemistry,
for instance,
where the shape of molecules is absolutely critical.
We'll also use it to look in detail
at the active sites of enzymes
and learning about how they catalyze chemical reactions.
We've developed our own interface to Jmol
which you can also find on the Molmodac Wiki space.
The URL for it is given here,
and if you'd like to use it to build your own molecules
as you move forward in the course,
you're absolutely more than welcome to.
A few tips to get you started on your way
with technology in 332,
the first is that you should be wary
of using technology too much.
It should enhance, not supplant your learning.
If you feel like you're going through the motions
of using a technological tool,
take a step back
and think about why you're doing what you're doing,
and if you don't understand why,
that's the time to go to either the wiki
or to one of the instructors or TAs with a question
about the purpose of the technology.
If you're having any trouble at all
with technology associated with a lesson or quiz,
there's a very good chance that another student
has had similar trouble.
Consult the associated lesson or quiz page
for the comments on the course wiki.
If you don't see a solution there,
you can email me or Dr. Moore
and we'll work on getting a solution for you.
A great resource for tech tips from the Molmodac Project
is the URL given here,
the frequently asked questions page.
It's particularly geared
towards building Jmols and MarvinSketches
to use on your page,
which is something we'll learn about in a future lesson.