Work in Progress: Practically Present: Developing a novel approach to remote laboratory learning and engagement through LabMate

Eileen Johnson; Karin Jensen

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Biomedical Engineering Division Poster Session
Page Count: 5
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41049
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41049
Download Count: 199

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Paper Authors

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Eileen Johnson University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Eileen Johnson received her bachelor’s and MS in bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She previously worked in tissue engineering and genetic engineering throughout her education. During her undergraduate career, she worked with Dr. Brendan Harley developing biomaterial implants for craniomaxillofacial defects and injuries. In graduate school, she worked with Dr. Pablo Perez-Pinera working on new genetic engineering tools. There, she became interested in engineering education after helping develop and teach an online only laboratory class. She currently works as a research associate under Dr. Karin Jensen with a focus on engineering student mental health, retention, and development of resources.

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Karin Jensen University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

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Karin Jensen, Ph.D. is a Teaching Associate Professor in bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include student mental health and wellness, engineering student career pathways, and engagement of engineering faculty in engineering education research. She was awarded a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation for her research on undergraduate mental health in engineering programs. Before joining UIUC she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Sanofi Oncology in Cambridge, MA. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia.

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Abstract

The need for online course delivery options has grown substantially, and laboratory courses are no exception. Students in biomedical engineering laboratory courses develop tactile skills that further develop their education. Common modalities for online laboratory delivery include watching asynchronous videos of laboratory techniques, providing students with example data with which to work, or performing simulations of experiments. For example, in our introductory cell and tissue laboratory course required for undergraduate biomedical engineering students, previous online delivery options included students watching a video of the experiment with a graduate student instructor and at home lab kit projects. Our course requires students to learn quantitative techniques in bacterial and mammalian cell culture. These techniques necessitate specialized equipment in stationary locations (e.g., microscopes, biosafety cabinets), biosafety level 1 materials, and tactile skills that are difficult to emulate with the current approach to online teaching. Further, there are concerns about the level of student engagement seen with the current approach to online laboratory teaching. To address these concerns, we developed a mobile virtual lab partner, LabMate, and evaluated the feasibility and student experience in the previously mentioned introductory biomedical engineering cell and tissue lab course. LabMate consists of three main components: a medical grade rolling cart, a Microsoft Surface tablet, and a GoPro camera. With both technologies streaming video through Zoom, the virtual student has access to the social (interacting with peers and instructors via the Surface) and technical (interacting with the experiment via the GoPro) viewpoints of the lab. The GoPro is connected to a stable but flexible mount which can be controlled by the in-person student, allowing for the virtual student to view the experiment at any angle. The virtual student relies on the in-person student to control LabMate and the partners must work together to complete the lab. In the current implementation, feedback is being collected by surveys with remote students, in-person lab partners working with remote students, and lab instructors. It will also be tested by students who have previously completed our course in the online format. These students will participate in focus groups to gain their perspective on the current implementation and to generate ideas to improve student engagement, enjoyment, and learning through the system. Together, this feedback will be used to better implement the LabMate system and improve future online laboratory course offerings. The results will be used to guide the design of online or hybrid laboratory classes. This paper will present the design of the LabMate system and preliminary data from our first semester offering.

Citation
Format

Johnson, E., & Jensen, K. (2022, August), Work in Progress: Practically Present: Developing a novel approach to remote laboratory learning and engagement through LabMate Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41049

TY - CPAPER
AB - The need for online course delivery options has grown substantially, and laboratory courses are no exception. Students in biomedical engineering laboratory courses develop tactile skills that further develop their education. Common modalities for online laboratory delivery include watching asynchronous videos of laboratory techniques, providing students with example data with which to work, or performing simulations of experiments. For example, in our introductory cell and tissue laboratory course required for undergraduate biomedical engineering students, previous online delivery options included students watching a video of the experiment with a graduate student instructor and at home lab kit projects. Our course requires students to learn quantitative techniques in bacterial and mammalian cell culture. These techniques necessitate specialized equipment in stationary locations (e.g., microscopes, biosafety cabinets), biosafety level 1 materials, and tactile skills that are difficult to emulate with the current approach to online teaching. Further, there are concerns about the level of student engagement seen with the current approach to online laboratory teaching. To address these concerns, we developed a mobile virtual lab partner, LabMate, and evaluated the feasibility and student experience in the previously mentioned introductory biomedical engineering cell and tissue lab course. LabMate consists of three main components: a medical grade rolling cart, a Microsoft Surface tablet, and a GoPro camera. With both technologies streaming video through Zoom, the virtual student has access to the social (interacting with peers and instructors via the Surface) and technical (interacting with the experiment via the GoPro) viewpoints of the lab. The GoPro is connected to a stable but flexible mount which can be controlled by the in-person student, allowing for the virtual student to view the experiment at any angle. The virtual student relies on the in-person student to control LabMate and the partners must work together to complete the lab. In the current implementation, feedback is being collected by surveys with remote students, in-person lab partners working with remote students, and lab instructors. It will also be tested by students who have previously completed our course in the online format. These students will participate in focus groups to gain their perspective on the current implementation and to generate ideas to improve student engagement, enjoyment, and learning through the system. Together, this feedback will be used to better implement the LabMate system and improve future online laboratory course offerings. The results will be used to guide the design of online or hybrid laboratory classes. This paper will present the design of the LabMate system and preliminary data from our first semester offering.
AU - Eileen Johnson
AU - Karin Jensen
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Work in Progress: Practically Present: Developing a novel approach to remote laboratory learning and engagement through LabMate
UR - https://peer.asee.org/41049
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41049
ER -