Our experience of the use of an online Dynamic Laboratory Manual (eBiolabs) to enhance practical teaching in integrated professional programmes

Physiology 2015 (Cardiff, UK) (2015) Proc Physiol Soc 34, SA059

Research Symposium: Our experience of the use of an online Dynamic Laboratory Manual (eBiolabs) to enhance practical teaching in integrated professional programmes

F. MacMillan1

1. Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.

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At Bristol we have developed an interactive Moodle-based web tool, eBiolabs1, that is available online and supports students in preparing for practicals, by providing introductory material including photos, videos, interactive animations and compulsory quizzes. eBiolabs also supports post practical assessments for uploading experimental data, performing post-practical analyses and assessments. Students receive instant feedback (marks and automated comments) on all submissions. eBiolabs was first introduced for BSc students in Biochemistry 2008 followed by Physiology in 2009, and has since been extended to the Veterinary, Medical and Dental programmes. Curriculum review of the veterinary programme at Bristol in 2013-14 lead to the introduction of integrated first year units which were previously taught separately as Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology. To coincide with this we have developed new material for eBiolabs to include anatomy classes from 2013-14 and histology classes from 2014-15 to make a single platform for students to get similar experience in all aspects of their first and second year animal health science units. A similar approach is being also being employed in the Medical Curriculum. Prior to a practical class, be it on anatomy, histology, physiology or biochemistry, students log on to eBiolabs either having reviewed printed material or to review the online pre practical information. They then complete a short pre practical quiz. The quiz is open for 5 days and closes at midnight the day before the class. The students then attend the practical class and complete all of the required elements recording their results in a lab book. Following the class they log back on to ebiolabs to complete a post lab assessment, the format of which varies depending on the class. In evaluation surveys students consistently rate aspects of ebiolabs highly. For example in a survey of first year physiology students 87% agreed or strongly agreed to the following statement “Completing the pre-practical quizzes left me better prepared for the practical classes than if I was left to my own devices to prepare for practicals”. And 75% agreed or strongly agreed that “The post lab assessments were helpful in getting me to consider the mechanisms addressed in practicals”. Since the introduction of eBiolabs we have found that students gain a better understanding of the practicals, work more effectively in the lab and engage with the practical. Staff and demonstrators are readily able to access all teaching materials online, which improves both preparation for practicals and monitoring of student attendance and performance.



Where applicable, experiments conform with Society ethical requirements.

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