Original post by Kamille on February 8, 2019
For my A1 assignment I chose to look at virtual laboratories. As a science teacher I know how important experiments are in helping students to grasp scientific concepts. Can virtual laboratories offer the same or a better experience when compared to traditional laboratory experiments? What benefits do virtual laboratories? These are just some of the questions I considered in my project.
I used the Powtoon software to create my project and then the video was published on YouTube. The link to the project is below along with the link to a TED talk given by one of the principals in the virtual laboratory company, Labster. The talk highlights one of the exciting developments in virtual laboratories.
A1 Project: https://youtu.be/yN4f6_RnOF0
My experience with virtual laboratories is limited to PhET simulations and different biological dissections. I am interested in augmenting my online courses with more engaging and interactive labs. I find that I share the same feelings as Michael Bodekaer (TED talk link) has when he is speaking about the shift from textbooks to ebooks, chalkboards to youtube videos, and lecture halls to MOOCs. Is this really innovation? Some simulations are very static and not very engaging. The simulations fall short in actually simulating the real world. Kamille presents Labster very well. I have heard but never used lobster, but the ability to integrate content across various mobile devices and even VR tools bring a level of innovation that classical virtual labs were lacking. During this time, I believe students would be more enthusiastic about the project portions of the course that are compatible with their mobile devices.
Hi Kristin, I actually did a project on Labster for ETEC522 and have been in the fortunate position of using Labster myself. It’s a pretty cool experience and their graphics are amazing. Labster makes a strong case for Virtual Laboratories and in a time where we don’t have access to physical resources it makes sense to look at these options. What was really interesting in my experience though was the consultation with my students on their experiences of using Labster. I teach two separate language groups and both trialed Labster. One group was thrilled about the idea of using it whilst another was completely opposed to using Labster. I attribute this a little to cultural differences between the groups with one being more traditional and wanting a physical lab experience rather than a virtual one.
Ultimately though, Labster fell short of our expectations for a virtual learning experience. The general consensus among my colleagues was that the designed labs just didn’t go deep enough into understanding the concept being illustrated. It’s difficult to explain especially since Labster has a great look and feel (you get to experience the environment as if you are the scientist doing an experiment) but I think part of the issue was that it felt like Virtual Laboratories were being touted as a replacement for Physical ones. However, the literature on this is still very much divided. This really might not be an important factor in all scenarios though but it was in ours. If you simply want something stimulating for students then Labster will be great. We ended up going for Learning Science designed course-ware which unfortunately is only designed for university level work but had a combination of virtual simulations like Labster but with a more in-depth analysis of the experiment and the data collected.