Teaching Science Using Virtual Labs
Virtual Field Laboratory Experiment (credit: YouTube)
How can teaching science be improved for field and lab students? Increasingly, the use of storytellers, experimental data simulations, and virtual or augmented reality games are good tools.
Michael Bodekaer, the co-founder of Labster an educational media company in Switzerland, wants to make teaching science more accessible by using virtual labs and data visualizations. He shared his concepts at CERN, the advanced particle physics center, by providing some revolutionary demonstrations. They could offer radical improvements to the education of science in high schools and universities around the world.
Teaching 21st Century scientists, engineers, and doctors requires understanding and manipulating large data sets, employing animation and gaming tools, and then combining them into virtual stories for solving problems. The collaborations will enhance the practice and understanding of science and could help educate the 'next gen' who will be needed to help solve critical issues of environmental sustainability, renewable energy, and healthcare. Bring on the data games! WHB