Applied science programs are special fields where students constantly use the fundamental concepts and theories learned in the classroom in their future careers. The value of laboratory experiments for science learning is significant, as they are a vital element in the educational process, and science concepts cannot be transferred profoundly to learners without practical laboratory experience. Currently, there are serious problems with existing laboratory sessions at the university level, which do not provide an adequate understanding of the scientific concepts due to lack of laboratory equipment which is capable to clearly demonstrate the scientific concepts. Even with the existence of advanced laboratory equipment, each laboratory session would be expensive, time-consuming, inefficient, and tedious. With the potential offered computers and information technologies for the educational domain, virtual laboratories have emerged as a valuable alternative to face-to-face, hands-on laboratories of applied science courses in academic institutes.

The objective of this plan is to design and develop a simple and user-friendly application of virtual labs to handle the above-mentioned issues, which students of applied science programs are facing every day. This application will promote a better teacher/student relationship in the laboratory sessions and provide conditions to accomplish educational goals successfully. The latest technology will create a unique virtual lab module providing a conducive learning environment in laboratory sessions for students by clear visualization of the physical phenomena, explaining course concepts, and providing engaging questions. The online format of the application led disabled students to successfully perform labs at home without compromising the in-person lab experience. The user, or in this case, student, will be able to simulate case studies repeatedly to observe the effect of different values of inputs on the simulation outcome. All the users’ answers are stored in a database, along with the professors’ questions and answers. Therefore, researchers can use the data to better understand how students learn. This application can be used for secondary education students and undergraduate students of all applied science programs from mechanical engineering to chemical engineering. Overall this application should provide a benefit to all students especially applied science students that want to deeply learn the basics and concept of physical phenomena.

For more info get in touch here: sm.javid@mail.utoronto.ca