During the pre-COVID-19 pandemic, the teaching team for the freshmen undergraduate Organic Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS) devised a board game called CheMakers. CheMakers enabled students to play with their peers to learn organic synthesis, in-person. However, due to the pandemic, safe management measures (SMM) were implemented; in-person gathering was disallowed, and playing CheMakers was no longer feasible. The teaching team then pivoted and collaborated with NUS Informational Technology to develop an online digital platform called ChemPOV. ChemPOV includes features that are absent in CheMakers such as 3D molecular visualizations, chemical trivia, and the ability to remain anonymous by using in-game avatars that are modeled after famous and underrepresented chemists. These avatars are carefully chosen to include a broad selection of scientists that show a diverse representation of our scientific community past and present. By playing ChemPOV, students compete with their friends which simulates peer-to-peer interactions, and are also given the opportunity to learn how to plan and apply their synthetic chemistry knowledge during the game which is important in mastering organic retrosynthesis. As ChemPOV is an online game-based learning platform, it allows for many learners to compete with their peers while adhering to the SMM, this overcomes the limitations of having to book more physical rooms to accommodate the learners, demonstrating ChemPOV’s scalability.

Showcasing a more diverse and inclusive representation of<br /> science via <b>ChemPOV</b>, an online game-based learning platform

Showcasing a more diverse and inclusive representation of
science via ChemPOV, an online game-based learning platform

Dawoud Musalli

Appearances