Dr. Stephani Joy Macalino implemented Labster's virtual labs during the height of the pandemic, she hopes they’re here to stay as she sees the value in them as a supplemental teaching tool. With positive feedback from students and assistance in helping her get the theory and safety procedures across to them, Labster has been an excellent tool for De La Salle University.

Download to read more about:

• How Labster prepares students for safer wet labs

• How visual learners benefit from a different way of absorbing information

• Why Dr. Macalino is using virtual labs to offer flexible learning (synchronous and asynchronous)

Dr. Stephani Joy Macalino is an Associate Professor who teaches Chemistry and Biochemistry at De La Salle University in the Philippines.

Labster Simulations Used: 

• Calorimetry: Using a bomb calorimeter 
• Basic Chemistry Thermodynamics: Solve the challenge of storing renewable energy 
• Nuclear Chemistry: Understand the processes happening in the atomic nucleus
• Chemistry Safety
• Lab Safety

Challenge: Ensuring students are prepared to do wet labs in a safe.

An Interview with Dr. Stephani Joy Macalino

Students can make mistakes

“The good thing is in virtual labs, students can make mistakes. They're free to mess up. But in the face-to-face laboratory, if you mess up and spill a strong acid or blow up stuff, that's a safety risk. In the face-to-face labs, they're not allowed to make mistakes. If they make mistakes, points will be deducted. In virtual labs, they can play around.”

Labster helps with safety training

“One of the biggest problems that I face is some of my students come to the laboratory not wearing proper personal protective equipment, handling chemicals without gloves, or they would do the experiment without proper eye protection. The simulations are really useful because, in the virtual lab, it always reminds the students to wear a lab coat and then get a pair of gloves and goggles. Labster is very, very helpful in preparing them to be safe.”

Different ways of learning

“Some students need to learn differently. For example, when I was a student, I was a very visual learner, so it was hard for me to listen to my professor talk about the theories without any visual aids. So for visual students like myself, Labster is very, very helpful.”

Flexible Learning

“We're going to move forward with high flex learning where we're going to teach students learning synchronously and asynchronously. Here, I can use a virtual laboratory as an introduction before we start the experiment. Having a virtual counterpart before they do the face-to-face big physical experiment is very helpful for the students to prepare themselves.”