How to Use VIPEr

Welcome to VIPEr (the Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic Resource)!

This site is both a repository of inorganic chemistry teaching materials and a user-friendly platform for social networking tools that facilitate virtual collaboration and community building.

What's on this site?

Learning Objects: Teaching Inorganic Chemistry (or even General Chemistry)? This site contains learning objects of various types in each subfield of inorganic chemistry as well as general pedagogical resources. You can search for particular types of content such as “in-class activities” or content areas such as “f-block chemistry” and download teaching resources to modify for use in your own classes. If you are a registered user, you can access Problem Sets (some with answer keys), and you can also mark learning object as “favorites” or indicate whether you have adopted them in your own classes. In addition, you can comment on materials as well to give others implementation ideas.
- Browse by subfield: First, click on the “Teaching Resources” button on the main VIPEr page. Then, clicking on the appropriate subfield icon (Atomic Structure and Periodicity, Bioinorganic Chemistry, Coordination Chemistry, Electrochemistry, f-Block Chemistry, Introductory Chemistry, Main Group Chemistry, Molecular Structure and Bonding, Organometallic Chemistry, Science Skills, Practices and Resources, Solid State and Materials Chemistry or Spectroscopy and Structural Methods) will bring you to a list of learning objects engaging that topic. You can also select the appropriate subfield using the pull-down menu in the blue-grey banner entitled “Teaching Resources,” found near the top of any VIPEr page.
- Browse by type of learning object: On the blue-grey banner toward the top of any VIPEr page, use the pull-down menu entitled “Content” to select your desired type of learning object.
- Browse by topic, prerequisite, course level: In any learning object, you may also see all objects with the same topic, prerequisite, or course level by clicking those attributes.
- Search for keyword: Know what concept you are looking for? You can do a full search of the titles and descriptions of each learning object. From any page, type your search string in the Search box (at the top right of the page).
Forums: This site contains a number of Forums addressing everything from Course Content discussions to threaded discussions on Demos and Great Inorganic Quotes. To view Forums topics, select the "Forums" button on the front page or use the top drop down menu. Registered users of the site can post responses within Forums or create new Forum topics.
Textbooks: Searching for the perfect Inorganic text? Have some opinions on the ones currently available? Although we no longer have an Activity Type for Textbooks, you can find discussions of Textbooks under the Forums Tab. Registered users may comment on any of the books listed and add summaries/analyses of textbooks not yet discussed.

How do I become a registered user?

Unregistered users may view most content. In order to leave comments on content orin Forums, you must become a registered user. Select "Create New Account" at the top right of the screen and provide the requested information. Your account will be activated immediately. If you are a graduate student, post-doc, or faculty member, you may also "Request Additional Privileges" by selecting the check box at the end of the "Create an Account" page. After a member of the administration team confirms your institutional affiliation, you will be granted "Faculty" status. This will allow you to contribute content, view and download all existing content (including Problem Sets), and fully participate in the social aspects of the site.

How do I contribute content?

After logging in, select "Create Content" from the top drop-down menu and choose the type of content you would like to add. Follow additional directions on the subsequent pages. For additional help, please see C ontributing to VIPEr>>Step by Step Instructions.

How can I find out about new content on VIPEr?

On the Home page there is a section on the right hand side for 'Active Discussions' and 'Recent LOs'. In addition, once you become a registered user you have the option to subscribe to different content on the site as described in detail below:

How to Subscribe to an Individual Learning Object:

Go to the page for the learning object you wish to subscribe to.
Scroll toward the bottom of the page for that learning object. Just above the “Add a new comment” box, you will see the clickable text, “Click for Subscription Options”.
Clicking this text will open up a menu with many options to select from. To subscribe only to that learning object, click“Subscribe to this item”.
You will also have the option to subscribe to larger categories of content type (for example, the learning object type, content area, etc.). If you would like to subscribe to these, click them.
Once you have selected what you wish to subscribe to, hit the “Save” button at the bottom of the subscribe menu items.

How to Manage Your Subscriptions:

At the top of any page, click on “My Account”.
Click on the “Subscriptions” tab.
On the “Content” page, you can unsubscribe from items. You can subscribe to certain content types (i.e. literature discussions, lab experiments, etc.) by clicking on the “Content Type” subtab.
You will automatically be subscribed to all LOs where you are an author or co-author. If you wish to unsubscribe from your content, under "Preferences" you can un-check "Auto-subscribe to my contents."

“How can I organize content on VIPEr?”

Several new features are available in VIPEr that help you organize content. The “My VIPEr” tab at the top of every page allows you to see your own published content, comments, and draft content. You can also tag LOs while viewing them as a “Favorite” and/or as an “Adopted LO”.

To tag an LO as either a “Favorite” or “Adopted”, click either “Add to My Favorites” or “I Have Adopted This” in the “My Notes” section after the author list in any LO. Your tagged LOs will be organized in the pull down menu in the “My VIPEr” tab so that you can easily locate them. Additionally, in viewing a list of Learning Objects in a particular category, any LO you have marked as adopted or favorited will be highlighted in yellow.

If you have a number of LOs around a particular topic that you would like to collect (and share with others!) you can create a “Collection”. These collections will appear under Teaching Resources on the VIPEr site. To create a collection, go to “Create Content” in the top menu. Fill out each box, and enter each LO by title (it will search for you if you start typing!) in the “Learning Objects” section.