Students Experience on the Efficacy of Virtual Labs in Online Biology

Science education relies on laboratory activities to provide practical skills to learners in both K-12 and college level. With the rapid advancements in technology, online delivery of instruction is increasingly becoming popular among learning institutions. Accommodating the increasing number of students enrolling for online biology courses requires alternative means of instructing laboratory component. Most importantly, these alternative means of instruction must ensure that learning outcomes are attained just like in the traditional methods of teaching and learning. The most notable approach is the use of virtual lab simulations. The current study reviewed the available literature to realize whether virtual labs in online instruction of biology courses for undergraduate courses are as effective compared to traditional Face to face (F2F) learning. The study reviewed a total of 13 articles relevant to the research question. The results of the review highlighted the positive and negative effects of virtual labs and the students' perceptions of their effectiveness. Based on the results of the review, the study provides recommendations for further studies on virtual labs and how they can be improved in teaching and learning in online biology instruction.