Submitted by Flo / Slytherin' State on Sun, 02/08/2015 - 15:33

A ligand orbital? Lorillard Inc. on the NYSE? Some new element that a bunch of scientists made 5 atoms of that lasted 0.2 microseconds? Well, in the world of VIPEr an LO is a learning object. Great...what's a learning object? Wikipedia defines a learning object as "a collection of content items, practice items, and assessment items that are combined based on a single learning objective". As this site is dedicated to improving the teaching of inorganic chemistry, a LO can be on any topic in inorganic chemistry you choose. So in the eyes of VIPEr, what is an ideal LO? Hopefully this list will provide some insights into the characteristics of an LO and what we don't consider to be an LO.

The ideal LO

  1. Is a small unit. It can be as short as a single exam question (more about that in a minute).
  2. It is easilty adoptable and adaptable. Only you teach your course, but your materials are likely useful to many others.
  3. It is focused on a specific topic in inorganic chemistry. Rumor has it that there is even a hidden (or Easter egg) LO on "festoonin’, a-toastin’ bread, and speaking a little Southern" by Joe Templeton of UNC.
  4. It clearly explains the learning outcomes.
  5. It is reviewed by and used by peers.
  6. It is dynamic. Others will use it and leave feedback on how they implemented it.

What a LO isn't

  1. A book or book chapter. If you want to write a book, great. Maybe a review will show up on VIPEr. But we are not in the business of publishing books.
  2. Long units with lots of parts. You are welcome to break up the parts into many different LO's, but don't make a huge LO covering the entirety of say organometallic chemistry.
  3. Completely finished and perfect. Your LO can be very 'bare bones' or it can be exceptionally detailed. 

So, I mentioned that a LO can be as simple as an exam question. Take a look at some of the LO's that were submitted as part of our first community challenge (don't worry, I'll wait for you). See, that doesn't look like something that would be too hard for you to do now does it? The leadership council was thrilled with the response we got to this, our first ever community challenge. And the good news is that you can participate in the next one. Nancy Williams is going to be leading that and you should expect to hear from her very soon.