Fig. 1. Chemical Education in Japan: 2nd version (1994).
Fig. 2 Chemical Education in Asia/Pacific (1997)
Chemical Education Journal (CEJ), Vol. 4, No. 1/Registration
No. 4-7/Received February 14, 2000.
URL = http://www.juen.ac.jp/scien/cssj/cejrnlE.html
E-mail: yoshito@info.kanagawa-u.ac.jp
Abstract: A brief account, the idea and the history, of the World-wide Chemical Education Network (WCEN) is described. It was suggested that if computer-based teaching materials are linked to WCEN, which is a part of the homepage of the IUPAC Committee on Teaching of Chemistry (CTC), the materials will be more effectively disseminated.
The purpose of this paper is to explain the project, named World-wide Chemical Education Network (WCEN) [1], which has been authorized by the Committee on Teaching of Chemistry (CTC) [2], of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as a part of its activity. The explanation will necessarily be preceded by how and when I proposed such a project to CTC, which in turn, is preceded by how and when I became involved in chemical education, and particularly in chemical education in the age of information technology.
From the beginning of my career as a chemist, my major field has been organic chemistry, and I did not have much opportunity to be involved in chemical education except via the conventional teaching of chemistry to students.
A small experience had given me some stimulus. This took place when I was involved in 8-ICCE (IUPAC International Conference on Chemical Education held in Tokyo in 1985). I was appointed chairperson of the Program Committee by Prof. M. Oki, the chairman of the Organizing Committee. One of the responsibilities of the Program Committee is to choose the main themes of the Conference, and to select plenary lecturers who are appropriate for the main theme.
After many discussions with the members of the Organizing Committee, we chose, as one of the main themes, "innovation of chemical education by means of computers". Two eminent chemical educators who were already deeply involved in the area of computers used in chemical education, Prof. S. Sasaki, Japan, and Prof. John Moore, USA, were chosen as the keynote speakers.
We could realize that the age of information and computers is just round the corner. Japan is trying to catch up with this innovation with some success. It seemed to me, however, that Asia as a whole is not necessarily appropriately prepared for the new age. In the previous age of iron and electricity and electronics, Asia has been a little behind the world-wide progress. Asia should not repeat this failure.
With these impressions, I obtained some idea as what I should do in future in the field of chemical education. How Asia can change its status in this new area of computers and information? It should be difficult to change the general trend since the present situation is an outcome of combined political, economical, cultural and historical background. Asia should start some efforts. This is the basic reason why I initiated this rather ambitious WCEN project.
It is apparent that such a project cannot be realized unless we proceed step by step. Then, what should be the first step? In the field of chemical education, as with other fields, the stream of information is basically one-sided; from the U.S and Europe to Asia. We know it would be difficult to reverse the stream completely. However, it may be possible to produce a new stream which starts from Asia and flows into North America and Europe.
Efforts to initiate such a stream had already been made by Prof. Oki and Prof. J. T. Shimozawa who indeed organized 8 the ICCE. Prof. Shimozawa edited an English book "Chemical Education in Japan" in 1979 [3]. This was indeed the first dispatch of information on chemical education in Japan to the world.
The very start of WCEN could be traced back to 1990, when the Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) organized a small group, the Subcommittee on International Relations as a part of the Council for Chemical Education. We decided that we should, as a function of the Committee, produce and distribute information on chemical education to the world. We edited and successfully published an English book, "Chemical Education in Japan: 2nd version" in 1994 (Fig. 1) [4].
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Fig. 1. Chemical Education in Japan: 2nd version (1994). |
Fig. 2 Chemical Education in Asia/Pacific (1997) |
With this success and experience, we planned a second book to be titled "Chemical Education in Asia/Pacific". In May 1995 we were asked by the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) to set up the Asian Chemical Education Network (ACEN) which should act as the hub of information on chemical education relevant to all Asian countries [5]. ACEN was opened in August 1997, and meanwhile we initiated the preparation of another book, "Chemical Education in Asia/Pacific" [6] which was indeed an outcome of cooperation between CSJ and FACS (Fig 2). In fact, publication of this book was the first activity of ACEN. The book gives a brief account of chemical education in some fifteen FACS member countries and can be the first reference to chemical education in Asian countries.
This kind of activity, a challenge of Asia to be a disseminator, rather than a mere receiver of information, seemed from the beginning, to attract the attention of the editor of Chem. Eng. News. [7] in which our activity was introduced to the effect that Japan (or rather Asia), looks to global, integrated chemical education (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 A page from Chem. Eng. News (1996)
It must be mentioned that what we did is not the simple publication of two books in a conventional manner. The whole materials of both books were from the beginning digitized and stored as a part of a database based on ACEN.
From around 1995 our activity began to be associated with IUPAC CTC. In other words, we stepped from Japan to Asia, and then from Asia to the world. Based on the request from CTC, we opened in the summer of 1997, the homepage of CTC in the homepage of IUPAC itself. As the means to disseminate information among chemists via the internet, use of the IUPAC homepage is the most appropriate way for obvious reasons, and this applied also to the field of chemical education. We believe that the homepage of IUPAC CTC will eventually be the most frequently used gateway to the world of chemical education.
In 1997 we also proposed and initiated the WCEN project Its purpose is to widen the role and scope of IUPAC CTC homepage. This should not remain as a mere notice board. We wanted to make this homepage the hub for computer-based chemical education teaching materials. We have asked chemical educators all over the world to link their computer-based teaching material to WCEN, adding that the intention is cooperation with IUPAC CTC as the best means for wider dissemination and wider use.
We also thought that we should prepare something by ourselves. The project, Virtual Chemical Education (VCE) [8], which has been most extensively promoted by Dr. H. Yoshida, is one of the key components of WCEN. It was decided by CTC that the "International Newsletter on Chemical Education", which has been the official journal for CTC, will be published from 2000 as an electronic journal based on WCEN. Cooperation with this journal is also welcome.
Finally, to materialize the VCE project, a world-wide research group has been established which received a two-year (1999-2000) Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Japan. The members of the group are as follows.
Y. Takeuchi(Kanagawa University, Japan; Organizer) yoshito@info.kanagawa-u.ac.jp
H. Hosoya (Ochanomizu University, Japan) hosoya@is.ocha.ac.jp
M. M. Ito (Soka University, Japan) itomasa@t.soka.ac.jp
H. Yoshida (Hiroshima University, Japan) yoshida@chem.sci.hiroshiam-u.ac.jp
J. J. Lagowski (University of Texas, USA, Co-organizer) jjl@mail.cm.utexas.edu
H. Rzepa (Imperial College, UK) rzepa@ic.ac.uk
R. Sanderson (University of Stellenbosch, South Africa) RDS@LAND.SUN.AC.ZA
R. Hollingworth (University of New England, Australia) rholling@metz.une.edu.au
Japanese members: ctc-wg@vbl01.chem.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
All members: iupac-wg@vbl01.chem.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
The group will organize a symposium on the use of the internet for chemical education, stressing international cooperation, on the occasion of the following two international meetings:
16th International Conference on Chemical Education, 5-10 August,
2000 (Budapest)
Pacifichem 2000 Congress, 14-18 December, 2000 (Honolulu)
WCEN project has just been started. We noticed that there are so many good teaching materials available via the internet. Nevertheless, most of these are not necessarily well-known and have been used in a restricted circle. Cooperation with IUPAC CTC, i.e., with WCEN, will improve this situation very soon. Advice on how to promote IUPAC CTC and WCEN is welcome.
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