Development and Production of Interactive Videos for Teaching Chemical Techniques during Laboratory Sessions

Success in undergraduate chemical experiments requires students to develop knowledge and skills of instrumentation, equipment, and chemical techniques. In this technology report, we propose an adaptable and user-focused strategy to improve students' foundational skill and proficiency with chemical laboratory techniques and instrumentation. The strategy is composed of multiperspective filming of experimental activities using mobile phones or professional-level filming to create videos that can be freely viewed by students in situ during laboratory classes on a mobile device (iPad). Details of mixed digital approaches for a variety of chemical experimental techniques (10 examples) are compared with professional-level filming and mobile-phone filming. The results show that both the accuracy and precision of the developed videos are highly suitable for teaching purposes. Use of mobile-phone cameras permitted chemical techniques to be filmed from multiple angles in constrained spaces, such as fume hoods. A major benefit to students was the utility of the videos on portable devices, as students were informed by the video while setting up or performing the task at hand during laboratory sessions.