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Virtual labs are Not equivalent to authentic labs. Laura Weis Miha Lee. Virtual microscope. http://www.udel.edu/Biology/ketcham/microscope/. Virtual Pig dissection. Websites with walk throughs. Cells alive AP interactive animations AP lab simulations Dragon genetics
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Virtual labs are Not equivalent to authentic labs. Laura Weis Miha Lee
Virtual microscope • http://www.udel.edu/Biology/ketcham/microscope/
Websites with walk throughs • Cells alive • AP interactive animations • AP lab simulations • Dragon genetics • Interactive dissections
Drawbacks of Virtual labs • Do not provide an opportunity for students to learn by doing. • Create misconceptions. • Do not teach technical lab skills. • Do not provide a full sensory experience. • Do not promote creativity. • Cause students to think things are disposable.
Virtual labs don’t provide an opportunity to learn by doing.
authentic lab activities are more effective teaching methods that give students more retention rate than virtual ones by providing students the opportunity to learn by doing. In Learning Pyramid
Virtual labs can Create Misconceptions. • Selecting the variables and data of software could be biased. • Virtual labs could fail to reproduce real phenomena. • Images & sounds used in virtual labs have just “maximum likeness” to the real phenomena.
Virtual labs can Create Misconceptions. • http://winter.group.shef.ac.uk/orbitron/AOs/1s/index.html • STM image of Nickel atoms
Virtual labs don’t teach technical lab skills. • Virtual labs cannot give students hands-on experience with experimental apparatus, equipment, chemicals and preparations.
Virtual labs don’t teach technical lab skills. • It takes experiences with real tools and time of practice to master the skills and techniques used in a traditional lab.
Virtual labs Do not provide a full sensory experience. • Virtual labs heavily rely on visual images and some audio sounds that are selected by the programmer. • Instructors could not consider all experiences when they plan, but students can learn something useful from a full sensory experience in a real lab.
Virtual labs do not promote creativity. • In a real experiment time, students can operate their tools and apparatus as differently as they want. • Students can design new experiments as they want, which help students develop creative thinking ability. • With fixed program, virtual labs are so inflexible that they don’t allow students to have freedom and creativity.
Virtual labs cause students to think things are disposable. • Students can repeat an experiment simulation as many times as necessary in a virtual lab. • RESET Syndrome • Students get insensitive to failure and danger in a real situation.
Teacher goals for labs • Students develop cognitive skills and are engaged cognitively • Challenge students concepts • Teach manipulative skills • Reinforce information
Virtual Labs can only provide for one of the four goals that teachers have for labs.
Virtual Labs cannot replace Authentic Labs They are not equivalent.