Advancements in online chemistry labs means better student experiences

While the Covid-19 pandemic might for all intents and purposes be in the past, many of its consequences remain. For one, as a result of the pandemic, online learning has become a staple form of acquiring knowledge, and despite universities and schools offering in-person education once again, many students are still opting to take online classes instead. The transition to online learning was easier for some subjects than others, with classes that contain practical components or which require group interaction to complete tasks correctly taking the most strain. One such subject was chemistry, with earlier iterations of its online learning offerings being insufficiently equipped to accommodate practical components. Indeed, most students undertaking online lessons before the pandemic would still go onto campus for their practical lessons. This meant that hybrid learning was often adopted in order to effectively work through the chemistry curriculum even when the pandemic was still underway. The hybrid model was, however, found to not be wholly effective, as lockdowns and social distancing requirements meant that students were still often left to undertake practicals in isolation albeit onsite. This need to offer students both theoretical and practical components in chemistry classes led to greater improvements in online learning formats. Now, various online offerings, like LT chemistry labs, provide students with more holistic digital chemistry learning experiences. While onsite learning will never be completely irradicated, effective online group collaboration and the digitisation of practical tasks that offer better immersive experiences where students more closely undertake experiments in a way that would occur in the real world means that more students are gaining necessary knowledge and skills pertaining to chemistry in the online space. As technology continues to improve, teachers will likely be increasingly able to offer valuable online lessons to students that can sufficiently prepare them for real-world application.