Rio Salado Science w/lab courses

[tbradford1]

Hi all,

Anyone here who has tried any classes that require virtual labs? I'm going to try to take A&P I and II online through Rio Salado Community College, and they mention that labs are done virtually online and through CD resources. I'm just curious if anyone has gone through a class there (or gone though any virtual lab class really) and can give input on how it worked and what you liked or didn't like about it. Thanks!

[Sunshine]

I haven’t taken A & P, but I did take a microbiology class with a virtual lab through my local community college last year. We used a program from VUMicro. The program came with a lab manual (PDF), which I printed out and used during the labs. After an initial tutorial and a tour of the virtual lab, the software allowed me to start working on lab exercises.

The lab was stocked with everything- equipment, bacterial strains, media for cultures, and biohazard dispensers. There were four main components: retrieving an unknown agent, performing biochemical tests, identifying bacterium, and interpreting results. I had to go through all of the various steps as if I were really doing it, like selecting media, choosing tools (such as Durham tubes, pipettes, loops, etc.), and then perform aseptic transfer techniques for a wet lab. These were done using the mouse/cursor- point and click, drag object, and so on. For example, I had to ignite the burner, remove caps, flame the loop, dip the loop into inoculum & sterile broth, place in incubator, etc. If I missed a step or took too long during the process, the program would let me know that contamination had occurred, and I'd have to start over. Once the lab was complete, I could view the results, including gram stains, microbial growth patterns, media turbidity, and video of bacterial motility.

Overall, I thought it was a really fun program. The labs were challenging - it took me about 3 hours to finish each one. Once I had completed them, the program generated a report that was sent to my professor. I wasn’t sure what to expect before I started the class, so I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

Pros: Done at home on my own schedule. All of the steps for culturing were performed. The incubation time was instant, so no waiting for days for a culture to grow. Very inexpensive method.

Cons: You don't get the hands-on experience (obviously!). This includes experience with various microscopes and slide preparation techniques. There is a lot of prep work that goes into staining that I didn’t get to practice.

Hope this helps!

[tbradford1]

Wow that sounds awesome, thank you so much! I'm excited to get started! I'm going through a different school because the cost was a little less and there was less hassle registering, but should still be the same concept. Thanks again!

[Sunshine]

Glad I could help! I checked out Rio Salado and they have a lot of great classes w/ labs. Let us know how it goes!