Laboratory teaching is costly, because it takes up much time and facilities are expensive. With growing student numbers the pressure on facilities increases even more. This calls for efficiency in the labs. At Wageningen University, an online ‘Lab video’ project was initiated to cope with these challenges.
Basic handlings
Sjef Moling, project leader, explains: ‘Our teachers used to spend much time on explaining basic handlings in the lab. Time that they rather use to discuss more difficult procedures and the results of experiments. That is where the idea sprouted to make short lab videos of elementary handlings in the lab, such as pipetting, using a microscope, but also safety instructions which can be used in class by all lecturers’. This project idea happened to fit in well within the call of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science for projects on open and online education. Moling and his team received funding to start the project and have now already uploaded 125 videos in an open online database, since May 2016 and there is still room for more.
Results
The project has not yet led to significant savings in time, although students do finish their lab work more quickly and with better results. Moling: ‘The feedback that we receive from students on the videos is positive. They feel more at ease in the lab when they viewed the video beforehand and need less support’. To refresh the students memory, instruments are also labelled in the lab with QR-codes that link to explanatory videos, which is highly appreciated by students. Lecturers use the videos in a different manner, some make them obligatory for students, others rely on the students’ own responsibility in preparing for a lab session.
Exchanging experiences
We are now in a phase that we would like to exchange experiences with other higher education institutes on deploying lab videos. Which set up is successful? When and how do you use the videos? And how do we stimulate reuse by other lecturers at WUR and other institutes? Moling: ‘We share our videos world-wide for the benefit of others and also give educational institutes the opportunity to record their own lab videos with our facilities or to make use of our storyboard. I would like to use this opportunity to invite others to participate. Time does not have to be a constraint: a lab video can already be recorded in one hour!’
More information
Would you like to share your experiences on lab videos or are you interested in making a video of your own with help from Sjef Moling and his staff? Please contact Sjef Moling. Additional information on the lab video project can be found in our 4TU.CEE innovation map.