The EdTech Roundup
Connect:
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Editorials & Press
  • Ed Tech Sites
  • Lesson Plans
    • Elementary
    • Secondary
  • Former Weekly Podcast
  • About Me
  • Contact

ChemDraw - Draw & Share Chemical Structures

7/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
ChemDraw is a new iPad app from CambridgeSoft that lets you easily draw and share chemical structures.  If you've ever used the computer software by the same name, it's fairly similar, just redesigned for the iPad.  With a price tag of $9.99, ChemDraw is an affordable and beneficial tool for the high school chemistry class.  It has a host of great features, so let's dig a little deeper!

When you first fire up ChemDraw you'll get a quick look at the interaction guide and everything is pretty straight forward: 

Picture
Interaction Guide for ChemDraw

Then you'll be taken to the drawing board.  From here you can draw and design molecules, reactions, diagrams, and any sort of chemical structure you need to create.  You'll find all the creation tools you need on the right and the settings and document tools at the top.

Picture
You canvas awaits

To start creating your molecules, it's as easy as tapping on the shape you want from the right and then tapping on the screen.  You can quickly add side groups, bonds, branches, and any other molecular addition by tapping on what you need and then tapping on your molecule.  The app supports stereochemistry as well if you're looking to get a little more advanced with your structures.  

Here are all the tools that are available on the app and most are pretty self explanatory:


Picture
Tools available in ChemDraw

One of the really awesome aspects of ChemDraw is the "Errors and Warnings" feature.  If you're building a molecule that violates a basic rule of chemistry (too many valence electrons, atoms too close, etc.) a warning will pop up to let you know something is wrong.  This is a great feature for students who are learning the basics of chemical structures and just becoming familiar with the rules of building molecules.

Picture
WARNING!!
 
Picture
All of the errors and warnings

But if you're not big on warnings and you find them to be getting in the way of some serious molecule-building, you can always turn them off in the settings menu:

Picture
Settings Menu

You can also spice up your molecules by adding some color!  Just use the paint palette tool at the top right to change the color of any bond, atom, or molecule you have selected.  This is a nice way to help students stay visually organized with complex molecules.

Picture
Adjust object colors

And when you're all finished making your molecule, click the "Share" button at the top left to send your molecule via email or flick-to-share (it will send in the .cdxml format).

Picture
Share your molecule

Another nice feature is that ChemDraw comes loaded with tons of molecules and reactions to look through and use.  Under the document tool at the top, you can select "Samples" to browse around 50 pre-built molecules and reactions.

Picture
Pre-built molecular gallery
 
Picture
Reaction time!

Suggestions for Improvement...

So now that we've covered the basics of the app and all the features, there are just a few areas where I believe ChemDraw could make improvements.

First, it would be great to see more options for saving your finished drawings.  The .cdxml file type isn't the most friendly and being able to export your drawing as a PDF or JPEG would be great.  And yes, you can always take a screenshot of you iPad to get around that, but it would still be a nice addition.

Also, I would like to see the option to add text boxes to the drawings.  That way, you could add notes or summaries or anything else text-based that you might want to include.  

Finally, while $9.99 isn't bad (especially compared to the $70-$200 price of their PC software) for a chemistry teacher trying to get this app installed on a classroom set of iPads, that can start running pretty high.  

Aside from that, this app does what it sets out to do, and it does it well.  If you're a high school chemistry or organic chemistry teacher, this app would be an excellent tool to help students draw and understand molecular structures.  And except for a few minor issues (noted above), ChemDraw is a great app.  It's intuitive to use, has a solid collection of drawing tools, and the "errors and warnings" feature is excellent and incredibly helpful.
You can find ChemDraw in the iTunes App store.

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Reviews

    Here you can find the Round Up's collection of in-depth reviews on the latest programs, apps, websites, and more.

    Make sure to click the review's title or the Read More link for the complete review!


    Picture

    Featured

    Picture
    Check out our featured review | ClassroomAPP: A Complete, K-12 Digital Platform for Online and In-Person Classrooms

    Teach.com

    Picture

      Subscribe

    Subscribe

    Connect


    Awards

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013

           
​Except where noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Picture

Copyright 2020 | Mike Karlin, Ph.D.