Digital Transformation

In the wake of COVID-19, the biggest challenge facing science classes is to figure out the best way to educate students in online science laboratory courses. Can science labs be taught online effectively? This study focuses on the idea that through the digitization of the learning experience, both teachers and students are able to improve their skills to create a more engaging classroom experience. In order to understand the effects of virtual laboratory methods as well as ascertain the effectiveness of our normal lab procedures, we will use a virtual versus hands-on scenario for a bioinformatics lab. The AP Biology students will complete the same lab objective in two situations - once by analyzing data that is given to them by the teacher (normal format) and second time by analyzing data that they access using an online database. Pre- and post-test data for conceptual and factual understanding will be collected. Students will then be surveyed to see if digitization of information can provide learning and collaboration opportunities that otherwise would be unavailable.