Critique of Online Periodic Table Article

Introduction

Kemal Izci, IIoyd H, Barrow, Erica, and Thornhill wrote the essay under scrutiny. Springer Science and Business Media, LLC distributed it online on July 24, 2012. Under the heading Online Periodic Table. A word of warning. This article reports on a study of the ten most popular periodic table websites available. The key goal was to compare the types of information and connections given to users and to test the authenticity of these online periodic sources. The essay has a clear and well-structured overview, as well as a concise framework. The authors use simple language which both the people in Chemistry field and those who are not can easily understand- it is not so professional articulated. The key words are highlighted and hence the reader can check them up before proceeding to read. This is a good thing as it helps one to understand. Each major term is followed by a definition or an outline that allows the reader to understand the concept. This is an advisable move because the reader can keep reading without reference. It also becomes very educational. For instance terms like periodic table, online periodic table, teacher tool instruction and well based instruction have clearly been defined.

Main Findings

In the introduction it is clearly outlined that the website is the main technological development that teachers use. However, it gives both accurate and inaccurate information. This appears true because in their findings where they compared the website with Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, a wide variation of accuracy was confirmed. Other things that were compared were meaning of name and use in the industry. Collected data was clearly tabulated which served as a summary for the reader. However, the theory part of data could be very tiring and even boring to a new reader in this field as it included a lot of figures. This part makes the paper professional and intense.

Methodology

The methodology the authors used is advisable. They analyzed the 10 top online periodic sites and hence accuracy in this study was on the higher percentage. On the other hand, they failed to involve the students who are a key force for this study. The question of how reliable the students felt the website information was remains unanswered. In most cases, students inquire from their teachers when some information varies from another especially if the concept is the same.

Recommendations

All the authors agreed that both the teacher and the student had to play a big role to solve this problem. Some of their recommendations could be very beneficial to the student especially where they called for learners to generate questions, test them, and share the results. This encourages teamwork among students and independency. However, they fail to address the main root of this limitation which is the internet itself. The ideal solution to make internet sources give accurate information lacks. We are in the 21st Century and technology comes in at any field, especially education. Having access to technological tools does not necessarily make a difference in students’ learning science, is a phrase used in the article, under sub topic online periodic table 3rd paragraph. Today books have become outdated. The easy access to the internet, access to a variety of scholars at one library, and the portability of any internet source such as a phone makes the internet superior to books.

Research Gap and Conclusion

Despite the comprehensive study, they create a research gap. It is evident that the online periodic table gives inaccurate information on a higher percentage. On the other hand, technology which includes the internet is inevitable. Today’s generation and the internet are also inseparable. This calls for the need of another study to modify internet information.

In conclusion, the authors have exhibited proper use of grammar such as the use of punctuations to help the learner understand the concept. The well-structured framework allows the reader to flow with the article. In addition, the authors have provided solid information to learning institutions that online periodic table provides inaccurate data and that books should remain the primary source of information.