Need Assessment for Designing Mobile Virtual Laboratory of Water Pollution

The aim of this research is as a basis for designing a virtual lab application for water pollution material. Needs assessment is carried out by giving questionnaires to college students so that they can collect information related to their responses to virtual lab implementation on environmental pollution material as an alternative to the real practicum activities in the field. This research is conducted in August 2020 in the biology education program of The Faculty of Teacher and Training Education, Sriwijaya University. The correspondences of this research are 76 college students of the fifth semester. The result of need assessment based on the questionnaire showed that 81.58% of students thought that it was necessary to create a virtual lab as an alternative to practicum activities. 89.48% of students agree that water pollution material can be one of the materials that can be made in the form of a virtual lab. 90.79% of students thought that practicum activities in the virtual lab could be made in the form of games accompanied by pictures to better understanding the topics that are being practiced. Based on the result of the research, it can be concluded that the development of virtual laboratory applications can be an alternative to help improve concept mastery and overcome the limitations of laboratory facilities.