简体中文
EnglishWhat Kinds of Teaching Materials Can I Find on the Analytical Sciences Digital Library?
Updated
The Analytical Sciences Digital Library (ASDL) collects peer-reviewed instructional resources for analytical chemistry, contributed by educators and researchers since 1998 and supported by the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry. If you teach analytical chemistry and want ready-made materials to build or refresh a course, the library organizes its content into four broad categories: courseware and learning modules, laboratory resources, multimedia and datasets, and classroom activities with instructor support. You can browse the library directly to find a resource that fits your curriculum.
Courseware, Learning Modules, and E-Books
ASDL describes its courseware, learning modules, e-books, and practices as materials you can drop into an analytical chemistry curriculum. These are the resources to check first if you need:
- Courseware — instructional units intended to support a course or part of one.
- Learning modules — self-contained teaching units on specific topics.
- E-books — longer-form digital texts.
- Practices — documented approaches you can adapt to your own teaching.
The library frames these as a way to "spiff up your courses," so they work best as additions or replacements for existing course content rather than as a complete degree program.
Laboratory Resources
ASDL's lab offerings go beyond conventional wet-lab procedures:
| Resource type | What it is |
|---|---|
| Labs | Standard laboratory exercises that fit analytical chemistry curricula |
| Remote labs | Experiments students run remotely |
| E-labware | Digital lab tools and materials |
| At-home, hands-on experiments | Experiments designed for students to perform outside a formal lab |
The remote labs and e-labware are presented as additions to labs you already use, which makes them useful when equipment access is limited or when you want students to practice before or after in-person sessions. The at-home experiments are a separate collection aimed at hands-on work away from campus.
Multimedia, Datasets, and Problem Exchanges
The library also holds non-text materials that can support instruction:
- Videos — visual demonstrations and instructional content.
- Images — figures and visual resources for teaching.
- Datasets — data students can analyze.
- Problem exchanges — shared problem sets and related materials.
These are useful when you want students working with real or realistic data rather than only textbook exercises, or when you need a visual aid for a concept that is hard to demonstrate live.
Classroom Activities and Instructor Manuals
For active learning, ASDL collects materials and instructor's manuals that facilitate student participation. The library explicitly promotes active learning and points to evidence on its effectiveness in undergraduate analytical chemistry courses. If you are moving a course toward more in-class collaboration, this section is where to look for structured activities plus the instructor-facing documentation needed to run them.
How to Start Exploring
- Go to the ASDL site and choose the category that matches your immediate need — courseware, labs, multimedia, or classroom activities.
- Open individual resource pages to check the description and format before committing it to a syllabus.
- Use the instructor's manuals and practices where provided, since they explain how the material is meant to be used.
- If you want to contribute or stay connected, the site offers a way to join the ASDL community of analytical sciences educators and researchers.
One practical note: ASDL is a curated library, not a single course. Expect to assemble materials from several categories rather than finding one package that covers everything.