However, shifting laboratory-based course components online brought additional challenges, and collaboration across universities became part of the solution. In late April, a group of Chemistry teaching professionals led by Dr Craig Campbell and Dr Malcolm Stewart at the University of Oxford, set up an online meeting and invited interested parties to join them to discuss the challenges of teaching laboratories online.
So was born the #DryLabs20 movement. The first online meeting was attended by 200 people from across the world. Ideas and resources were shared and common challenges identified. It was so popular that new technology had to be employed to allow a bigger meeting second time round when everyone agreed they wanted to meet regularly.
Since then, further communities and websites have been set up to help higher education teaching professionals from various science disciplines that provide a professional space for collaboration and discussion:
Biosciences
Dr Nigel Francis (Swansea University), Professor Ian Turner (University of Derby) and Dr David Smith (Sheffield Hallam University)
Chemistry
Dr Dino Spagnoli (University of Western Australia)
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering Hybrid Laboratories
Dr Thomas Rodgers (University of Manchester) and the Institution of Chemical Engineers
Physics
Dr Helen Vaughan (University of Liverpool) and the Institute of Physics
LearnSci has been involved in many of these meetings, presenting directly or supporting some of our partners who have demonstrated their use of LearnSci LabSims and Smart Worksheets.
If you are struggling with preparations for online labs for the new academic year contact us to see how we can help. In addition, if you are looking for like-minded professionals experiencing the same challenges, you can contact the relevant communities via their direct websites and contacts.
