UCD ChemWiki

(As of: 30 October 2012)

The ChemWiki project is a collaborative approach toward chemistry  where an Open Access textbook environment is constantly being written and re-written partly by students and partly by faculty members resulting in a free  textbook to supplement conventional paper-based books. Success of the project will be gauged by the number of students who consult the ChemWiki and the number of Chemistry courses that eventually adopt the ChemWiki as the sole textbook for class needs. Anyone can view, although a freely available account is required to edit the site modules. The UCD ChemWiki was created, and the development team is currently directed by Prof. Delmar Larsen in the Chemistry department at UC Davis.

The ChemWiki is the pilot STEMWiki developed to demonstrate efficacy of the Dynamic Textbook Project, which is a multi-institutional collaborative venture to develop the next generation of open-access textbooks to improve STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at all levels of higher learning. The central aim of the Dynamic Textbook Project is to develop and disseminate free, virtual, customizable textbooks that will substitute for current, commercial paper texts in multiple courses at post-secondary institutions. Other STEMWikis in the Dynamic Textbook Project include the BioWiki, the GeoWiki, the StatWiki, the PhysWiki and the MathWiki.