Are virtual labs right for my science course/program?
Find out if virtual labs are a good fit for you right now.
Yes! Virtual labs help you raise pass rates and engage your students. :smile:
You want your students to be more successful and confident:
Virtual labs are a new tool that give students a chance to learn at their own pace. These pre-lab or post-lab learning experiences make them more likely to grasp new concepts and techniques. After learning with high-quality virtual labs, exam and course pass rates often increase by a full letter grade or more!
You want to engage your students:
Good news, one of the best ways to get students more engaged in science is to make scientific theory relevant to their lives. Some virtual labs - like Labster - use storylines to helps students contextualize what they learn in practical labs. Virtual labs also make it easy for you to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.
You're super busy:
Virtual science labs offer automatic grading and are pre-packaged to align with your courses. They're the extra pair of hands you need!
--> Ready to give virtual labs a try?
Yes! Virtual labs will save you time. :smile:
You need more time:
Virtual science labs are the extra pair of hands you need. They offer automatic grading and are pre-packaged to align with your courses. It will be easier for you to take back your time and prioritize your students, research, service -- or whatever is most important -- and let go of some of the repetitive grading and administrative tasks that take up your time.
You want your students to learn self-reliance:
Virtual labs are a new tool that give students a chance to learn at their own pace.
These immersive learning experiences help them grasp concepts, build confidence, and perform better on exams - often by a full letter grade or more!
--> Ready to give virtual labs a try?
Yes! Virtual labs can help you do more with less. :yum:
You're open to new teaching resources that work in hybrid and online settings
Don't have an advanced microscope for every student in the class? No problem. Planning a lab on chemical composition and structure?
Good news, each and every student gets to access the NMR machine in a virtual lab!
Getting an infinite bench of high-end lab equipment that all students can explore is one of the coolest reasons to teach with virtual lab simulations.
You don't want to worry about paying for expensive equipment or facilities
Affordable virtual labs mean you won't have to struggle to pay for new equipment and lab space. And you don't worry about making sure it works with your IT department, either. Labster takes care of the technical integration with your gradebook/LMS.
You want to see students succeed
After learning with high-quality virtual labs, exam and course pass rates often increase by a full letter grade or more!
--> Ready to give virtual labs a try?
Maybe not right now? :thinking_face:
It sounds like you and your students are doing great right now. You are comfortable using tried-and-true teaching methods -- and that’s great!
Keep in mind that the fun and rigor of virtual labs might be useful as extra credit for curious students or as exam review material. That's why a well-developed science learning platform should include lab manuals, lab reports, and a library of science images that students (and you!) can draw on for enrichment. Science explainer videos - also available from Labster - may also be a good way to fold in some multimedia content to appeal to students who are accustomed to using video games in their personal lives.
If you decide you want to give virtual labs a try, Labster is offering you unlimited access to its platform for 30 days. You can get the full experience of teaching with Labster, including access to all of our resources and simulations. Let us know what you think!
--> Ready to give it a try?
Are you concerned that your students' course grades are not higher?
Which best describes how your students participate in labs?
Do your students come to lab prepared?
Do your students have trouble understanding how course concepts apply to the real world?
Do you find that time spent grading and on administrative tasks interferes with your time to teach?
Have you noticed that your students seem afraid to make a mistake in front of you or their peers?
Do you think your students could benefit from activities that help them apply their learning and prepare for a career in STEM?
Do you feel confident that your current course materials meet the diverse learning needs of your students? (eg, Explaining phenomena that they can’t see or touch.)
Is your teaching constrained by a limited budget for lab equipment, space, or supplies?