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Titration ColorDarts is aimed to enable the learners to identify the probable errors in their titration experiment independently. TCD provides a real-time feedback report which includes gamified performance scores, question prompts and hints for taking measures to resolve the errors in the subsequent experiment iterations by self-assessment.
In a large classroom setting, it becomes tedious for instructors to provide personalized remarks to learners on their titration conduct at frequent intervals.
The design and development of TCD was directed by the motivation to enable learners to be able to independently:
For integrating and using TCD with your laboratory activity, follow the in-app tutorial. For detailed instructions on setting up the experiment and required lab conditions for use of TCD, please refer to the following document (See Teacher Manual).An Overview of the application assisted in experiment is summarized in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Overview of the ‘Titration ColorDarts’ assisted experiment
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Teacher Manual
Balraj B. Rathod, Sahana Murthy, and Subhajit Bandyopadhyay
Journal of Chemical Education 2019 96 (3), 486-494
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00708
Abstract: “Is this solution pink enough?” is a persistent question when it comes to phenolphthalein-based titration experiments, one that budding, novice scientists often ask their instructors. Lab instructors usually answer the inquiry with remarks like, “Looks like you have overshot the end point”, “Perhaps you should check the amount of the indicator and redo”, and “The pink can be fainter.” However, in a large classroom setting, it often becomes tedious for teachers to provide personalized remarks to students on their titration conduct at frequent intervals. In an effort to get the learners to become independent in evaluating their titration experiments, in this paper, the design, development, and implementation of a new smartphone tutor application named Titration ColorDarts (TCD) has been presented. TCD uses the camera function to analyze the pink color of the titration solution to provide learners with a feedback report on their experimental conduct. TCD maps the gradient of pink (from light to dark) to a corresponding performance score (on a scale of 1 to 10) and presents it in a gamified manner on a dartboard. It generates a report that includes question prompts and hints to elicit a learner’s reasoning for independently identifying potential sources of error in their experiment and for figuring out how they can be resolved. The results from the initial pilot exercise conducted with undergraduate students corroborate the effectiveness of TCD as a lab tutor.
