Virtual lab exercises complement the learning experience

A team of chemical engineering academics incorporated virtual lab exercises to teach biochemistry and biochemical engineering units to our chemical engineering undergraduates. The transformation of our regular physical lab session to the digital lab platform was timely as the university was under lockdown, and the physical lab sessions couldn't be conducted online.

Using virtual lab platforms such as Labster and Praxilab, the team related the syllabus and course content to the relevant online lab exercises. Students were required to complete the gamified modules with multiple mouse-clicking actions to resolve various research problems given in the exercises. Students could provide instant feedback when encountering problems while the built-in quizzes attested to their problem-solving ability.

The virtual lab platform is a versatile digital learning tool that can be integrated seamlessly into the online teaching approach. Students can access the learning content without being restricted to the boundary of laboratory or face-to-face lab exercises. Adopting a virtual learning space in a lab setting could mimic the immersive laboratory experiences, and the class size is no longer a barrier to effective teaching by lecturers. The virtual lab platform unlocks the potential of simulating experiments that require intensive resource investment (e.g., expensive and complicated equipment) and tedious workflow. This is where the virtual lab platform has the edge over traditional lab activities.

Many learning activities were moved to the online platform in response to the campus lockdown. Lab exercises are an impacted learning activity in chemical engineering courses because students couldn't acquire psychomotor skills through physical lab exercises. A recorded session of physical lab activities is often used as a workaround to the problem, but the learning process is passive because students can't engage with the lab equipment and have a hands-on experience. Learning best occurs when students are given a chance to handle the experiments under the guided structure of lab exercises. Here, the virtual lab platform offers a solution to our problem caused by university lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual lab exercises allowed students to learn at their own pace and attempt the experiments multiple times without being restricted by lab access. This new way of learning facilitated student-centred learning. The majority of the students felt that the virtual lab experience positively impacts their learning process, as they can apply the knowledge gained in the class to resolve the problems presented to them in a fun and engaging manner.

In the post-COVID era, the virtual lab platform can still be aptly adopted as a pre-lab activity. Students practice their lab skills and acquire background knowledge in the virtual environment before attending the physical class. These flexible exercises allow the students to better prepare for the physical lab experiments and build their confidence in mastering the technical skills later.