A combination of public health risks and cultural shifts has contributed to a society that values learning in less traditional, but more effective, ways. Many universities have pivoted in order to offer more virtual learning options. And it seems like this trend is here to stay, as students are now seeking out online courses more than ever before.
The Wiley Education Services report found that 52% of students would actually opt for a program at a different university if it was not offered online at their school. So, if you don’t consider having an online option for your courses you could risk decreasing enrollment.
However, some curriculums are more difficult to conduct remotely than others. Specifically, remote lab sciences are difficult to conduct outside of schools and universities. You need in-person guidance, classroom equipment, and hands-on experiences to properly teach science… right?
That’s where our mission at Science Interactive comes to life. We believe remote science classes and hands-on lab experience are not only possible – they can be extremely effective in helping institutions attract and retain students. We want to show science professors that they can make remote lab science learning successful. Our goal is to help instructors and schools to adopt new, modern ways of teaching science in a post-pandemic world.
Here’s how to ensure that your remote lab science lessons are a success.
Create an Engaging Hands-On Online Learning Experience
One of the main concerns for professors when designing remote lab science is that they feel the student will not be able to have the same hands-on laboratory experience as their on-campus peers. Listening to remote lectures is one thing – but not having an instructor offerings hands-on support and assistance during labs is another.
Further, transitioning traditional curriculums and lesson plans into online classrooms and creating at-home lab kits on your own can be extremely difficult and time-consuming. There are so many factors to consider, like equipment, safety features, and instructions.
Science Interactive helps to enable instructors to deliver lab science courses for remote students that are as rigorous as the in-person laboratory. This includes hands-on lab kits that correlate with each course. The tactile lab kits enable instructors to deliver their courses online with rigorous lessons and experiments. Remote learning students can conduct experiments that give them the same experiences as a face-to-face laboratory but are designed to be done completely at home.
We provide a digital science curriculum with peer-reviewed digital lessons and hands-on lab kits for:
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Environmental Science
- Forensics
- Geology
- General, Organic, and Biochemistry (GOB)
- Microbiology
- Organic Chemistry
- Pharmacy Technician
- Physics
Focus on Safety and Equipment
Lab safety is of the utmost concern, so this also needs to be factored into remote lab experiments. Science Interactive’s kits are designed to provide the student with everything they need to safely conduct their lab equipment at home. Every experiment in our lesson library follows step-by-step instructions designed by our Ph.D. scientists to reduce risk. All of our kits include the proper lab equipment, protective equipment, and small-scale chemicals that are safe to use at home. We are also adamant about limiting toxicity with biological chemicals as much as possible by offering formalin-free materials and non-virulent microbes.
Before any students can begin any lab science experiment, they must first complete a lab safety lesson. This covers all of the precautions they need to take during any experiment, such as:
- Wearing personal protective equipment
- Preparing a lab space
- Handling lab equipment and chemicals
- Emergency protocols
Our hands-on lab kits are designed to support the students every step of the way, even when the instructor is not physically available while conducting their lab experiments. This system offers additional benefits to both teachers and students, such as learning flexibility.
Allow Professors to Make Each Course Their Own
We understand that instructors have their own style when it comes to teaching science. Often instructors are concerned that online courses hinder their ability to meet the learning objectives of their syllabus or suppress their teaching styles.
Science Interactive understands that each professor has their own way of teaching and engaging with their students. So, we provide our interactive courses as the foundation – but we still give instructors the ability to customize and lessons as they see fit.
For instance, professors can add their custom lab lessons to the curriculum and change elements, such as quiz questions, altering learning objectives, and adding in further instructions. Professors can also add additional media, such as pictures and videos, to existing lessons.
This means that the professor is still in control, but the lab program gives them the tools and platforms. This ensures that their online students can achieve the same learning outcomes as their on-campus peers.
Make Sure the Professors Have Support, Too
Another reason that professors are so reluctant to try remote labs is that they are overwhelmed by the thought of managing this system. They might think they need to overhaul their entire curriculum to make it possible for their online science lessons to be just as comprehensive as their traditional courses. For instance, they may be worried about recording videos for each of the steps or designing lab experiments that can be conducted at home.
This is certainly a viable concern – starting from scratch to create an online science course is certainly no easy task. Again, this is where Science Interactive shines. We provide a quality, rigorous curriculum that is developed by Ph.D. scientists and instructors, just like you.
Our lab solutions are built with the flexibility for professors to choose their lessons. Plus, there is always to option to further customize by adding videos, text, or other content into our lab management platform to fit set syllabi. On top of this, our content and lab management platform SI Cloud are built using the best practices in online pedagogy to ensure that students succeed in gaining a strong understanding of the lesson objectives.
Our lab management platform SI Cloud integrates with most learning management systems (LMS), so instructors can easily access and provide assignments, grade work, and provide direct feedback. We also offer help centers for both students and instructors with instruction manuals, resources, and troubleshooting guides.
Online course offerings are no longer an option; they are a necessity. Modern education is shifting towards digital and remote learning – and thankfully, remote science labs can be equally as engaging and immersive with Science Interactive.
With our comprehensive lab solution and support, we manage all the details for you. Our courses are designed to support both students and teachers with rigorous curriculum lessons, additional resources, and customizable features.
To learn more about all of our lab science course online offerings, contact us today.
