Science Laboratory Practice for Students of Biology Departement, Faculty of MIPA of Universitas Terbuka

Nugraheni, Endang (2004) Science Laboratory Practice for Students of Biology Departement, Faculty of MIPA of Universitas Terbuka. In: Seminar Nasional UT - SEAMOLEC 2004, 2-3 September 2004, Universitas Terbuka.

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Abstract

The term of distance education represents a variety of educational models that have in common the physical separation of the teachers and learners. Those models were very common in nowadays information technology era throughout the world, especially with the coming of “internet” possibilities. Almost all kinds of programs and courses were offered through distance education mode, including science. For some science programs, students were required to master practical laboratory skills as well as the other cognitive aspects. The distance education institution have to provide learners who are not on campus with experiences that are equivalent to those of other learners in fully equipped laboratories as in conventional universities. A valid science laboratory experiences that meets the needs of distance learners were very difficult to provide. Most of them required additional cost, which have to be paid by the students. There were some efforts and strategies of the institutions to fulfill those needs. Among those strategies were developing laboratory kits which contain special equipment and supplies to complete one or more lab experiments. Another option is to conduct lab experiments at one location on an interactive video network. Students at separate sites actively participate by conferring on the steps to be followed, and by observing, interpreting data, and suggesting followup activities. Some universities build what they called virtual laboratory, with sophisticated multimedia interactive programs. Others also use off-the-shelf computer simulations, which were increasingly available on the market. Depending on the cost and the hardware requirements, students might either purchase simulations as part of their instructional materials or travel -- either alone or in groups -- to a library or off-campus location to work with computer simulations. The most conventional approach was conducting face-to-face laboratory practice at real laboratory facilities. Students are required to travel to a certain location with laboratory facilities to complete an intensive laboratory experiments over several days or weeks. At Universitas Terbuka (UT), one of the most challenging aspects of supporting students was to provide those laboratory experiences. UT use the most conventional model, which are real laboratory experiment conducted at other local universities and government institutions. In the future, some extend of multimedia products or “dry lab” products could be developed to enhance the learning experience of the UT’s biology students.

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