Design of a Virtual Laboratory for Secondary Schools
Maganga John Nkwande1, Candida Mwisomba2, Cuthbert Karawa3 & Joseph Sospeter Salawa4
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering
Mbeya University of Science and Technology, Mbeya-Tanzania
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
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Abstract responsible for the simulator's appearance and feel, as well as
This Virtual physics laboratory is an important its responsive design.
instrument used in science, engineering, and technology
Users can visit Virtual labs anytime and can do any
courses to improve learning and understanding of many
experiment multiple times to clear his/her doubt as these labs
theoretical topics. This study proposes the introduction of
can easily be accessible through the internet(Khairudin et al.,
a Virtual lab and need for a Virtual lab as an alternate
2019). Because of the attractive simulators, the curiosity of
tool in place of the physical lab for learning and
the users increases while performing any experiments
understanding. The report examined developed virtual
virtually. Virtual labs help students not only to learn basics
labs, compared the physical lab to the virtual lab, and
but also to understand advanced topics through virtual
justified the need for virtual lab adoption. Virtual labs are
experimentation. With the help of the Virtual labs, a user can
interactive simulators that use frontend and backend
repeatedly perform any experiment without the time and
technology. Through the development of a virtual
place restrictions(Schnieder et al., 2022). Performing an
laboratory, this initiative seeks to transform the teaching
experiment on a Virtual lab before the physical lab, allows
of physics in secondary schools. The virtual laboratory
students to make mistakes without fear of not getting the
gives students an immersive environment to conduct
experiment done right. Virtual labs protect students and
experiments, illustrate concepts, and investigate physical
teachers from hazards, as there is no direct contact with
phenomena by getting over resource constraints and
chemicals and no handling of explosive devices or electricity.
safety concerns. The lab provides lifelike simulations of
Virtual labs are not limited to any 50 minute class
mechanics, electricity, magnetism, and optics by utilizing
period(Gamage et al., 2020), users can perform experiments
technologies like virtual reality and simulation software.
through Virtual labs before and after class from his/her home.
Features like adjustable parameters and instant feedback
Many users can access a single experiment at the same time.
enhance student engagement and learning. Through user
Virtual labs have been developed for different
testing and feedback iterations, the laboratory is refined
domains(Christopoulos et al., 2018). These are not bounded
to align with educational objectives. Evaluation metrics
for any specific domain area. Virtual Labs are not the
assess its effectiveness in improving student
replacement of physical labs but they act as a supplementary
understanding, retention, and overall learning outcomes.
learning for students and teachers. The practical work in
By democratizing physics education, this project
laboratories for any student is as important as any theoretical
empowers students worldwide to explore the wonders of
class (Rizman Herga et al., 2016). Virtual labs provide an
the physical world in a dynamic digital environment,
environment in which teaching and practicing any
transforming physics instruction along the way.
experiment is possible without any physical contact. It
generates awareness among students about the equipment
Keywords: Virtual, laboratory, Secondary Schools, Physics,
and procedure of those experiments which may not be easily
Practicals
explained in physical labs due to time and precautions
issues(Oser & Fraser, 2015).
Physical vs Virtual labs
INTRODUCTION
In Science and Technology, practical work is very important
Virtual labs are essentially visually appealing simulators so laboratories are set up by the institutions for the same.
that represent all of the components and setups of physical Laboratories can be physical or virtual. Physical labs are also
labs. Frontend and backend technologies are utilized to make known as traditional labs. These labs are essentially an area
any simulator appealing. In any simulator, frontend that contains many specified equipment with many students
technologies are mostly utilized to provide everything that performing experiments with their instructor in a real-time
the user sees on a simulator page (ChemLab A Virtual environment. The output of the experiment is then recorded
Chemistry Lab - Chemistry Lab Simulations - ChemLab by and analysed in the form of a handwritten report.
Model Science Software, n.d.). Frontend technologies are
Virtual labs are those labs that are developed virtually advance before moving on to physical equipment due to the
with the help of different programming languages in the form mistreatment and damage of equipment (Dziabenko et al.,
of responsive, attractive and user-friendly 2013).
simulators(Chakravarti et al., 2021). There are many
differences between the types of labs that are mentioned CASE STUDIES
below. In physical labs there is highly paid equipment which To show the real environment of physical labs in any Virtual
are having high maintenance costs but in Virtual labs there labs, a method is used in which we are creating virtual copies
are no such additional expenses, you only required a of real labs. In this method, a photo of any lab is clicked by
computer or a laptop with an internet connection choosing an appropriate point initially. The equipment in the
(Mujkanovic et al., 2015). lab is positioned in such a way that all the equipment is
clearly visible to the user and then marking of that equipment
In physical labs, there is a need for a teacher to explain the
is done. The model of 3 dimensional is made for every
procedure or steps of an experiment but in Virtual labs, no
equipment with the help of good quality pictures. These 3D
need for a teacher for instructions is required as instructions
models of each equipment are then transferred as images of
are given in a very simple language. In physical labs,
2D in the PNG format after choosing an appropriate
resources sharing is very complex and in Virtual labs it is
viewpoint of the 3D model with some modifications.
very simple. A single experiment can be performed by few
users only in physical labs while in Virtual labs multiple
users can perform experiments at the same time(Baranov,
SYSTEM DESIGN
2016).
Designing a virtual physics laboratory for secondary schools
NEED OF ADOPTION OF VIRTUAL LABS involves a meticulous approach to system architecture, user
interface, and functional modules. The system architecture
Users found Virtual labs to be very exciting and enjoyable due leverages a component-based design, integrating essential
to interactive simulators and different video links which are elements such as the user interface, physics engine, and
provided by the developer. The attractive visual effects in the database management. This architecture ensures that each part
Virtual labs make it more useful for users to grasp any of the system operates cohesively, providing a seamless user
concept quickly (Lindsay et al., 2007). The adoption of experience. The user interface is crafted to be intuitive and
Virtual labs is the need of the hour because these labs use educational, incorporating drag-and-drop features, interactive
computer software only which is very cheap and easily buttons, and detailed wireframes that facilitate easy
accessible by the students and even the risk factor associated navigation and engagement with the simulations.
with these experiments are negligible. Those data can be Additionally, the core functional modules, including the
easily examined by the students with the help of Virtual labs simulation module, experiment setup module, and data
which are not concerned with their prior knowledge but these analysis tools, are designed to emulate real-life physics
data are very difficult to examine through physical labs. experiments, allowing students to interact with and learn
Difficult experiments can be easily performed by the students complex physics concepts through practical, hands-on virtual
with the help of Virtual labs because of its understandable experiments.
design(Neumann & Woodfill, 1997). In physical labs if
equipment is not available and even the existing equipment is The expected system is supposed to work based on the figure
not working properly then in that situation the teaching may represented by the following flow chart diagram.
be affected. Virtual labs do not have these kinds of problems
as equipment is virtually available and because of this quality Figure 1. Flowchart
the operational cost of Virtual labs is also reduced(Tuysuz,
2010). If we develop a virtual experiment of any physical
experiment then the lifetime of that experiment increases and
we can perform that experiment virtually without any wear
and tear of equipment. The quality of practical work in any
field is increased through Virtual labs. Virtual technology acts
as a boon to those who live in distant areas where fully
equipped laboratories with expensive equipment are not
available. These labs are available for worldwide users across
the globe (Saliah-Hassane et al., 2000). Many experiments
deal with high voltage devices, concentrated chemicals and
huge machines that have risk factors involved with them and
are eliminated by performing them virtually. It also increases
the safety factor of the user. The other main importance of
Virtual labs is that students can practice an experiment in
CONCLUSIONS
The lack of equipment’, high maintenance cost of physical
labs, safety issues and other such issues which are mentioned
in this paper are sufficient to show that standard of the
education in the field of practical teaching is
decreasing(Špernjak & Šorgo, 2010). Virtual labs are
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS complementary tools to support better learning in the field of
practical work but we can use it as an alternative tool also for
It was observed that there were so many limitations those practical’s that are difficult to perform in traditional
associated with physical laboratories work. Physical labs labs(Bell & Fogler, 1999). Through Virtual labs students can
have pre-defined schedules which limit the availability of improve their skills as Virtual labs gives them the opportunity
time for performing experiments by students. If a user fails to learn through videos, practice single experiment again and
to complete the experiment on time which is assigned to again and solve interesting assignments. In this paper, we
him due to some reason, then the complete practical will be have reviewed what Virtual labs are, how they are made,
lost for him. Even some safety issues also arise along with what technologies are used in making Virtual labs, how
equipment shortage in many physical labs that are set up by coding helps in making interactive simulators which are
many institutions. To overcome those limitations nothing but exact replica of the physical labs(Bortnik et al.,
technology plays a vital role with development of Virtual 2017). Their contributions in the different fields of learning
labs. The teaching and learning methods which are for making the studying method more efficient have been
currently used can be enhanced with this technology that is shown (Dalgarno et al., 2012). The advantages of Virtual labs
Virtual labs. By Virtual labs, the visual concepts of the over traditional labs and the need for adoption of these labs
students are developed which motivates them to be actively are also included. The paper also shows multiple reasons
involved in the laboratory works in class. It can act as an support that Virtual lab not only increase the interest of the
alternative for those institutions that are not able to provide students but also allow them to learn at their own pace even
fully equipped labs for practical and research work of early in the morning. Virtual labs are truly anytime, anyplace
students. Safe and attractive environment is provided by lab(Filanovich & Povzner, 2021).
Virtual labs for better improvement of learning approaches.
Virtual labs provide an opportunity for users to repeat an
experiment multiple times and the experiments can be
individually performed.
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