This document summarizes a pilot program between PerkinElmer and the University of Illinois Springfield to test an online collaborative platform called Elements for science education. The platform aims to modernize the way students engage with and learn science in a way that is social and feels natural. It allows students to absorb materials, upload their own data, and coordinate research workflows. The pilot program tested Elements in chemistry courses, finding that it allowed sharing of experiments, integration of diagrams and spectra, and prevented lost or forgotten lab notebooks compared to traditional methods. Future enhancements could include more advanced spreadsheet, graphing, and analysis features.

1. 11 © 2009 PerkinElmer© 2009 PerkinElmer© 2009 PerkinElmer
Elements™ of
Science Education
Joint PerkinElmer and University of Illinois -
Springfield pilot on collaborative chemistry.
Nic Encina, PerkinElmer
Layne Morsch, PhD, University of Illinois Springfield
March 18th, 2014 – ACS Dallas

2. 22
Intro: Nic Encina
 History & Trends
 Review of PerkinElmer Elements
 Overview of Pilot
Pilot: Dr. Layne Morsch
 University of Illinois Springfield
 Future opportunities
Agenda

3. 33
Technology is ubiquitous:
 Laptops, Mobile, Tablets, Wearables, Home, etc
Information has become social:
 Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, etc
Today’s kids expect it, and if it’s not an app or on a
website somewhere then it’s not worth knowing.
Need to engage students in a way that feels
modern yet natural.
Software is Everywhere

4. 44
The way that students engage with science is static and
dated.
This affects their
perspective.
Which affects how
they learn.
It also affects how
they interact with
their professors.
Ultimately, it leads to an overall negative experience.
And Yet…

5. 55
But Science is Evolving
OLD NEW
Mainframe Cloud
Centralized Distributed
Concrete Virtual
Isolated Social
Secretive Public
Local
Labs
Globalization
Distributed
Research
Technology
Social &
Immediate
Distributing
Discovery

6. 66
Today’s research is
possible due to
yesterday’s
discoveries.
We are constantly
losing valuable
data.
Imagine the overall
cost of this data
loss.
Source: The Atlantic, Dec 19, 2013
Science is Additive

7. 77
A modern learning environment that delivers information
how students are accustomed to consuming it.
A platform that addresses the deficiencies in today’s
research labs and teaches future researchers the skills and
habits that will
empower them.
New technologies that
make today’s science
curriculum relevant
and exciting.
We Need:

8. 88
So What Can We Do To Create A Better
Learning Environment?

9. 99
• Create an online collaborative platform for science where students
can absorb material and upload their own data.
• Coordination by Design
 Model research workflows
 Integrate across disciplines
 Make science immediate and social
 Provide an additional medium of communication
• We created an environment that will feel natural to students familiar
with apps, cloud, social.
Software as a Service (Saas)

10. 1010
Modeling Research Workflows
System Record
Compound Protein
Protocol
Reactants & Reagents
References Tool compound
Chemist Biologist
Evolutionary
Applications
elements pages workflows SOP’s

11. 1111
Let’s bring modern technologies that enhance student
engagement into the classroom.
Science can be interesting, relevant & cool.
Start In The Classroom

12. 1212
Elements Pilot –
University of Illinois Springfield - Education Perspective
Background and Framework

13. Elements Overview
 Intuitive to set up
 Sharing for research or teaching
 Flexible for many experimental designs
– From very simple experiments to complex

14. Dashboard
 Login Screen shows materials on left
 Prompts in the middle

15. Creating New Experiments
 Can create from
a blank layout
 Or use a
template you
have created

16. Deliver Lab Material
 The experiment can be used to deliver background and
instructions to the students
 Questions can be included for the students to answer (shown
in red)

17. ChemDraw Integration
 There is a ChemDraw element that allows for drawing reaction
schemes, mechanisms and products

18. Lab Procedure
 Students can write their detailed lab procedure just as they
would in a paper lab notebook

19. Incorporate Spectra into the Notebook
 PDF files of Spectra can be uploaded into the notebook
 Elements windows can be arranged full width or shared

20. Incorporate Spreadsheets into the Notebook
 Excel spreadsheets can be uploaded into the notebook

21. Sharing Experiments and Notebooks
 Collaborators can be
invited to share a
single experiment or
an entire notebook
 Permissions for each
collaborator can be
set

22. Pilot Testing
 Students have begun using Elements in place
of their carbonless copy lab notebooks
 Instructor shares a template, which students
can use to create their experiment
 All student experiments are created in a
shared folder – allowing for grading

23. Teaching Advantages
 Students cannot lose their lab notebook
 Students cannot “forget” to turn in lab
 Students cannot claim to have completed lab if not
finished
 Students can be asked to create and organize their
own experiment
 Integration of pictures (TLC, product crystals) and
spectra into lab notebook

24. Ideas for Future Development
 Spreadsheet, graphing incorporation
 Multiple text Elements usable for a variety of uses
– Questions to be answered
– Adding a gradable rubric
– Student analysis of spectral peaks
 Multiple ChemDraw Elements
– Reaction scheme
– Mechanisms
– Product structure along with spectra
– Apparatus drawing templates

25. 2525
Acknowledgements
The New Speed of Science
• Tanya Tan, laboratory instructor, University of Illinois Springfield
• Kara McElwrath, Assistant Director of Client Services, University of Illinois
Springfield
• Brian Gilman, PerkinElmer
• Hans Keil, PerkinElmer