Virtual learning has been making education more accessible, flexible, and equitable – for students and teachers alike. But when the COVID-19 pandemic shook up the world, it shook the classroom up with it, and virtual learning was hailed as the adaptation that kept schooling intact.
To gain further insight into how one of education’s most hands-on subjects has evolved, we sat down with Smart Science co-founder, Ed Keller, and dove headfirst into the exploration of virtual science labs. One of our biggest takeaways? Virtual science isn’t just a stand-in for physical labs – it’s a strategic solution to one of the field’s most urgent problems: educator retention.
While science instructors might have unlimited passion for what they do, they don’t have unlimited resources. When constraints like budget and large class sizes make the teaching they envision hard to manage, engagement takes a hit with students and educators. Luckily, virtual lab technology is here to help change that, with five key benefits that not only support student learning but also lighten the load for teachers.
Benefit 1: They Allow for an Individualized Experience
In science, often the best way to learn is to learn by doing. But with limited resources, students typically have to share equipment, forcing some students to take on more passive roles as observers.
Virtual labs remove the need for physical equipment, allowing educators to provide each student with an individualized lab experience. As students choose hypotheses, think critically about cause and effect, collect data, and analyze outcomes themselves, they grow comfortable with the scientific process, helping them reach performance goals that are often difficult to meet on class scales.
Benefit 2: They Reduce Classroom Costs
A PBS study found that, on average, middle and high school teachers spend $450, out of pocket, on lab supplies every year. That doesn’t include the expenses taken from the annual budget, or the estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars spent building new science labs.
With virtual science labs, kids can experience all types of science activities they wouldn’t have access to typically, without the high cost of equipment. When educators don’t need physical beakers or microscopes for students to experiment, science becomes a wider world of possibility for all students.
Benefit 3: They Make Labs Safer
Science experiments are engaging; they’re captivating, sometimes smelly, and the closest thing humans have to magic, but they’re also occasionally dangerous. The regulations are constantly changing surrounding what materials are safe for classroom use. And when it comes to chemistry, precision is the difference between an edible compound and a toxic one.
Because virtual labs are able to mitigate risk factors, students can experiment with a wider range of compounds that are too dangerous for physical classrooms. This means science experiments that show students the chaos of chemical reactions – and they don’t have to settle for safer alternatives. Plus, when educators don’t have to constantly watch students to make sure they’re avoiding accidents, they can facilitate engagement more effectively.
Benefit 4: They Reinforce Digital Skills
Computer technology touches every industry, especially science. To teach real-world skills, educators need to immerse students in experiences that expose them to professional practices. That includes science, where technology has made it so experts can more easily access the information they need to make discoveries.
With virtual labs, teachers don’t have to explain to their students how real scientists work because they show them. Through digital data collection, graph analyses, and familiarization with computerized processes, virtual labs teach students how to leverage tech like a pro. This helps educators streamline curriculum goals, leaving more time dedicated to thought leadership and in-lab exploration.
Benefit 5: They Increase Access to Science Education
For educators across the nation, decreased attendance rates are a serious setback to student achievement. Virtual labs circumnavigate the in-person obstacle, allowing students to engage with labs from anywhere. Not only that, it also means students can learn at the pace that’s right for them.
When educators are able to assign individual students different labs, science education becomes a more equitable experience. Virtual labs make it possible for teachers to curate personalized learning agendas without requiring additional educators to assist. This helps educators extend their reach so they can support a diverse range of student needs, showing students that science really is for everyone.
If It’s Not Real-World, It’s Not Real Science
It’s clear virtual science labs have their perks, but when it comes to our top choice for educators, Smart Science takes the title by putting student learning and engagement first. The founders’ philosophy if it’s not real-world, it’s not real science is a motto that has inspired the very features that set Smart Science apart. Using labs filmed by science teacher and Smart Science’s CEO, Ed Keller himself, the program synergizes the benefits of digital learning with the authenticity of real life, creating a resource that shows science unfiltered. Unlike other options, Smart Science keeps the real-world variables field scientists can’t always control for like wind, lighting, and temperature. So, students experience more than simulated science, they experience real science in a safer, smarter way.
CTA: Make remote science real-world. Browse our selection of Smart Science labs for your middle and high school students today.