Implementation of Virtual Laboratories in Teaching Practical General Chemistry

Abstract

Virtual laboratories are an application virtual reality technology which its positive impact on learning has been reported in many contemporary studies. This study reports the results of a study which examined the influence of implementing one of the applications of virtual laboratories in teaching the general practical chemistry course for the first level students of Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST). The application is an Educational interactive simulation of the traditional laboratory. The study reports the attitudes of the lectures and the students towards the use of the virtual laboratory in teaching. The study was conducted using a virtual laboratory product called "Crocodile Clips". A group of chemistry experiments was selected from the neutralization experiments (acids and bases). In the virtual laboratory the students found all requirements including chemical reagents, glassware and other apparatus needed for conducting an Experiment. The chemistry experiment looked like real as far as the processes and colours. The virtual laboratory system consisted of tools for supporting the Experiment such as displaying the progress of the reaction, graphs and the observation of the structure of Molecules in 3D as well as displaying chemical equations in their forms (ionic, verbal and symbolic). The study also discusses the concept of virtual laboratories and its relationship to e-learning mentioning the pros and cons of their use followed by a brief survey of the research contributions in this area. A questionnaire was designed to find the attitudes of students and lectures towards the use of virtual laboratories in general practical chemistry. A sample consisting of (144) students were used. The study found that the use of the virtual laboratories gave the students the opportunity to interact with modern technology discovering its pros and cons. It assisted the students to become skilful in conducting laboratory experiments thus creating a positive attitude towards virtual laboratories. However, no significant difference was observed between the performances of the students using traditional and virtual laboratories. The virtual laboratories gave the Students a feeling of confidence when conducting the real experiments. It led to conserving the time of students and lectures and they could repeat experiments without the worry of consuming chemicals or damaging equipment or glassware. Over and above, it has created a cooperative educational structure