Improved Learning Outcomes With A Virtual Chemistry Lab

To keep K-12 learners engaged, learning methods that establish a connection with them are proven to work better than rote learning. Educators can best engage students by providing them with an immersive learning environment; something that e-learning platforms are now making possible. With immersive learning, students can effectively grasp complex academic concepts in a highly interactive virtual environment. With relevant and realistic settings that replicate an actual classroom, educators can enhance the learning experience multifold.

Central to immersive learning is a virtual setting that commonly features simulated training. The K-12 education industry is fast adopting immersive techniques through virtual labs, a major shift from the traditional classroom-based learning to more practical learning in STEM.

Incorporating a virtual learning environment in STEM subjects offers some specific advantages. In chemistry, for instance, understanding of concepts requires students to visualize them in a lab. But conceptual gaps often arise in a traditional chemistry lab because of several constraints. These can be largely overcome through visualization elements in a virtual environment.

The Traditional Chemistry Lab

In chemistry and other sciences, performing experiments in a laboratory is crucial to acquiring knowledge. In the past, learning took place in the classroom and in an actual chemistry lab.

Because real labs feature chemicals and other dangerous substances, they can be potentially unsafe for children. Additionally, they offer limited flexibility for practice and repeatability of experiments due to cost considerations and the need to physically monitor students.

A Virtual Chemistry Lab For Immersive Learning

Virtual learning is gaining popularity in all fields, but it is especially revolutionizing STEM education. Virtual chemistry labs are the new trend for educators to take teaching to the next level.

For students, chemistry can often be a difficult subject to grasp. A distraction-free virtual environment features a simulated lab setting. Here, learners can perform chemistry experiments and play around with compounds in a safe manner.

Moreover, students can learn by repeated practice at no extra cost as educators track their progress and collect learning data with the help of e-learning systems. From the publishers’ point of view, simulations are affordable since they can be offered to different institutions at no additional cost.

Benefits Of A Virtual Lab

There are several benefits to integrating a virtual lab into your chemistry curriculum. Let’s look at some of these advantages:

• Safety — The primary concern in an actual lab is the safety of students. In a virtual environment, there are no real (that is, potentially harmful) chemical compounds. This means students don’t endanger their lives or that of others.
• Self-paced Learning — In a virtual environment, students can perform the same or new experiments multiple times at their own pace, with no time constraints. This eventually helps them master chemistry concepts that may be otherwise difficult.
• Flexibility — Students’ access to laboratory material is restricted; they can only use the material meant for particular experiments. However, on a virtual platform, they can try different experiments and perform research that could be potentially hazardous in real life. It enables students to develop deep cognitive skills and allows them to test even the most eccentric ideas.
• On-the-go — With immersive virtual learning, students can access labs and practice modules on their mobile devices on the go, irrespective of where they are.
• Analytics –An e-learning platform is essential to support an immersive virtual environment. Using the rich and continuous student data that e-learning platforms make available, educators can analyze learner progress in real-time. With such a platform, educators can track student performance to a great extent with centralized information on module progress and reports on each student.

Conclusion

Chemistry lab in schools are typically limited for various reasons, such as lack of resources for repeated experiments, safety, time constraints etc. Virtual learning environments come with no such limitations, and present a viable educational approach for STEM subjects. It isn’t hard to see how virtual labs can open a world of possibilities to students, and aid them in mastering even the most complex of concepts.

For knowledge acquisition, relying on an immersive virtual environment results in valuable learning outcomes for STEM, with visualization elements, in a space that is both safe and flexible.

Thanks for reading!

Akhil Pawa is a management expert and the service line owner for solutions and delivery of all Digital Interactive Content offerings at Magic. Akhil has handled several digital transformation projects in the EdTech domain.