Abstract
Our journey into mobile application (app) creation was instigated by the realisation that the learning of certain concepts and content could be significantly improved by technology-enhanced educational methods over traditional methods. A ubiquitous platform to place these educational tools are on mobile devices as apps. Our four phases of mobile app development were conceptualisation, content gathering, development and implementation and evaluation, which are extensively elaborated within this chapter. The main intention of this chapter is to provide non-information technology (non-IT), content expert educators with technical insights to create their own apps specific for the content they teach, in collaboration with computing trained educators, both within the context of a higher education institute. The two app examples discussed throughout this chapter are “SYM MO” (symmetry and molecular orbital theory) and “SM2 Chem” (Chinese-English translations of Chemistry terms), which were both developed by the authors. At present, “SM2 Chem” is the more popular app between the two, with an upward total count of 800 downloads per year; an acceptable number given the class size is approximately 100 per year. Apart from download counts, evaluation on the impact of this app was carried out with a pretest and an identical post-test at the start and end of the course, respectively. Students who used the app very frequently/frequently showed an improvement that was a significant threefold greater than those who used the app rarely/very rarely. Further evaluations are essential to prove that the learning of the concepts and content using the developed apps is indeed better than traditional methods.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
AppBrain. (n.d.). Android statistics top categories, for Android and Google Play Store. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.appbrain.com/stats/android-market-app-categories
AppNews123. (n.d.). Apps for learning chemistry – Best chemistry ipad apps to learn elements & molecules. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.appnews123.com/434/
Baron, N. S. (2011). Concerns about mobile phones: A cross-national study. First Monday, 16(8). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i8.3335
Beck, K., Beedle, M., van Bennekum, A., Cockburn, A., Cunningham, W., Fowler, M., … Thomas, D. (2001). Agile software development manifesto. Retrieved from http://agilemanifesto.org/
Best Online Universities. (n.d.). Mobile learning in action: Our 101 favourite apps. Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://bestonlineuniversities.com/favorite-mobile-learning-apps/#chem
Chatterjee, S. (2014). A sociological outlook of mobile phone use in society. International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(6), 55–63. Retrieved from http://www.ijims.com/uploads/7f312a1489818ee30d4fz8.pdf.
Hinze, S. R., Williamson, V. M., Shultz, M. J., Williamson, K. C., Deslongchamps, G., & Rapp, D. N. (2013). When do spatial abilities support student comprehension of STEM visualisations? Cognitive Processing – The International Quarterly of Cognitive Science, 14, 129–142. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10339-013-0539-3.
Hogan, D. (2014). Why is Singapore’s school system so successful, and is it a model for the West? Retrieved from http://www.nie.edu.sg/newsroom/media-coverage/2014/why-singapores-school-system-so-successful-and-it-a-model-west
Inukollu, V. N., Keshamoni, D. D., Kang, T., & Inukollu, M. (2014). Factors influencing quality of mobile apps: Role of mobile app development life cycle. International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications, 5(5.) Retrieved from http://arxiv.org/abs/1410.4537.
Jameson, J. (2013). E-leadership in higher education: The fifth “age” of educational technology research. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(6), 889–915. doi:10.1111/bjet.12103.
Jeng, Y-L., Wu, T-T., Huang, Y-M., Tan, Q., & Yang, S. J. H. (2010). The add-on impact of mobile applications in learning strategies: A review study. Educational Technology & Society, 13(3), 3–11. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.13.3.3
Kimbrough, D., & Cooper, S. (2009). Embracing diverse and English language learners in chemistry. In S. L. Bretz (Ed.), Chemistry in the National Science Education Standards: Models for meaningful learning in the High School chemistry classroom (2nd ed., pp. 119–128). Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
Libman, D., & Huang, L. (2013). Chemistry on the go: Review of chemistry apps on smartphones. Journal of Chemical Education, 90(3), 320–325. doi:10.1021/ed300329e.
Markic, S. (2015). Chemistry teachers’ attitudes and needs when dealing with linguistic heterogeneity in the classroom. In M. Kahveci & M. K. Orgill (Eds.), Affective dimensions in chemistry education (pp. 279–296). Berlin: Springer.
National University of Singapore Computer Centre. (n.d.). Mobile iPortal. Retrieved September 12 2015, from https://m.nus.eu.sg/.
National University of Singapore Department of Chemistry. (n.d.). Emelyn Tan Sue Qing webpage. Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://www.chemistry.nus.edu.sg/people/Teaching_staff/tansq.htm.
Oller, R. (2012). The future of mobile learning. EDUCAUSE Centre for Applied Research, Research Bulletin. Retrieved from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERB1204.pdf.
Pniok, H. (n.d.). Periodensystem. Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://pse-mendelejew.de/en
Pocketgamer.biz. (n.d.). App store metrics, for iOS and Apple app store. Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://www.pocketgamer.biz/metrics/app-store/
Raiyn, J., & Rayan, A. (2015). How chemicals’ drawing and modelling improve chemistry teaching in colleges of education. World Journal of Chemical Education, 3(1), 1–4. doi:10.12691/wjce-3-1-1.
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press.
Schippers, B. (2016, February 3). App fatigue. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/03/app-fatigue/
Sharples, M., Taylor, J., & Vavoula, G. (2007). A theory of learning for the mobile age. In R. Andrews & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The sage handbook of E-learning research (pp. 221–247). Chicago: Sage Publishing.
SM2 Chem. [computer software]. (2014). Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/sm2-chem/id775658884?mt=8 and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nus.sm2chem&hl=en
Sommerville, I. (2015). Software engineering (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Stanford University Libraries. (n.d.). The mobile chemist & chemical engineer. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from https://lib.stanford.edu/swain-library/mobile-apps-chemists-chemical-engineers
Stangor, C. (2014). Introduction to psychology, version 2.1. Washington, DC: Flat World Education.
SYM MO [computer software]. (2013). Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/sym-mo/id696503087?mt=8 and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sg.edu.nus.symmo3d&hl=en
Tan, C. C. (2012). Of whales and the campus tsunami. In State of the university address. Retrieved from http://president.nus.edu.sg/pdf/soua_2012.pdf
Tan, E. S. Q. (2013a). Appsolutely chemistry. Retrieved September, 2015, from http://nuschemistry.wix.com/appsolutelychemistry
Tan, E. S. Q. (2013b). SYM MO Mobile app for chemistry students. In Tech N’US. Retrieved from http://comcen.nus.edu.sg/technus/go_mobile/sym-mo-chemistry-app/?utm_source=TechNUS+November+2013&utm_medium=email&utm_content=html&utm_campaign=TechNUS+newsletter
Tan, E. S. Q., & Teo, D. J. L. (2015). Appsolutely smartphones: Usage and perception of apps for educational purposes. Asian Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5(1), 55–75. Retrieved from http://www.ajsotl.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/v5n1p55_ETan.pdf.
Tuvi-Arad, I., & Gorsky, P. (2007). New visualisation tools for learning molecular symmetry: A preliminary evaluation. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 8(1), 61–72. doi:10.1039/B6RP90020H.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). (2013). The future of mobile learning implications for policy makers and planners. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002196/219637E.pdf
Williams, A. J., & Pence, H. E. (2011). Smartphones a powerful tool in the chemistry classroom. Journal of Chemical Education, 88(6), 683–686. doi:10.1021/ed200029p.
Williamson, V. (2011). Teaching with visualisations: What’s the research evidence? In D. Bunce (Ed.), Investigating classroom myths through research on teaching and learning (pp. 65–81). Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tan, E.S.Q., Soo, Y.J. (2017). Creating Apps: A Non-IT Educator’s Journey Within a Higher Education Landscape. In: Murphy, A., Farley, H., Dyson, L., Jones, H. (eds) Mobile Learning in Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 40. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4944-6_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4944-6_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4943-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4944-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)