We have been exploring two different platforms for virtual lab experiments, namely Second Life and Flash.
Flash seems to be winning out as the preferred option for students but I won’t pre-empt the results of the detailed study currently being carried out by Dr Stephanie Henderson-Begg and Paula Booth. To see the Flash version of PCR and electrophoresis experiments go to:
http://www.uelconnect.org.uk/hab/pcr_lab/
To see the same experiments in Second Life, create an avatar (if you haven’t already got one) from http://www.uelconnect.org.uk/secondlife/register4sl.php and go to UEL HABitat as per info on this post, enter the lab and follow the instructions.
An allied aspect of the virtual lab activities is to make what we do available to a wider audience and so contribute to other open resources in similar areas. Both the Flash and SL experiments are now publicly available as is another Flash resource on general lab skills developed via LTARG funding earlier in the year:
http://www.uelconnect.org.uk/hab/
A bid for external funding to enable the development of more ‘open source’ experiments of this kind is in progress.
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