OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM: Innovating STEM Education

Schedule Overview

Day 1

The first day of the event kicked off with a welcome, providing the history of how this event came to be. The welcome was followed by an orientation to VoiceThread and the unique affordances of the asynchronous Salons, which supported community-building alongside session presentations. A Technology Support Fair was an additional highlight for Day 1 for those who are finding they need or want assistance in navigating the day. Given that a major goal of the event was to facilitate storytelling through online and digital modalities, Day 1 included both synchronous and asynchronous opportunities to engage with others in sharing their Lab stories. Day 1 closed with a 45-minute Ideate Saloon, full of casual social networking and virtual fun.

Day 2 & Day 3

View the detailed agenda for Days 2 & 3 on this grid and/or view a printable version.

Days 2 & 3 of the event featured our synchronous Salons. Both days began with a keynote inspired Community Salon, which situated this event in the current STEM educational context and drove conversation through provocations related to where we need to go. Programming for both days then moved into two major half-day blocks, each anchored around one of the major event themes. Morning remarks served as a transition into 45-minute synchronous Salons. Whether they took the form of a Discussion Salon (whole group) or a Cohort Salon (breakout rooms) these Salons were key moments for thought leadership, administrators, technology partners, and the educator community as a whole to make connections and dialogue around the implementation of Lab technologies and how we might (re)imagine the future of Online Labs for STEM. Days 2 and 3 also featured mid-day Coffee Talks, additional asynchronous engagement opportunities, and of course a fun and engaging Saloon for lightweight and fun community building.

Live Session Recordings

All OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM sessions were recorded and are available to OLC members. If you are already a member, you can access those here. Please note that you will need to sign in to your OLC account. Not a member yet? We’d love for you to join! In addition to OLC Ideate recordings, you will have access to a range of exciting and transformational professional development opportunities. For information on how to join and why, visit the OLC Professional Memberships page.

Asynchronous Sessions

All asynchronous sessions will remain open to the public. You can engage with those, as well as contribute to the OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Community Storytelling Forum by visiting the event VoiceThread space.

Joining after the event?

• Contribute to our community collaborative worksheet!
• Engage with asynchronous sessions and contribute to the OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Community Storytelling Forum by visiting the event VoiceThread space.
• Access Live Session Recordings

Following Ideate

The conversation won’t stop here! If you are looking for continued engagement and community building with others committed to the future of Online Labs for STEM, you’ve come to the right place. Join us in August to start making those connections and for more information on how to stay connected and additional opportunities to engage.

Detailed Agenda Day 2 & 3

 

Session Abstracts

Sessions are presented in-line with the program (i.e. ordered by session time and day). 

Day 1 – August 19, 2020

Synchronous Zoom Sessions

Session Title: Day 1 Welcome Event
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Join the OLC and MERLOT as they kickoff OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM with the story of how this event came to be.

Session Title: OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Day 1 Orientation
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Join the OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM event team for a casual orientation to the day. We’ll cover VoiceThread, event goals, and talk all things STEM storytelling.

Session Title: Coffee Talk: STEM Storytelling
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Grab a hot (or iced) cup of coffee or tea, bring a fun story (or 2) to share, and join your OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM hosts – Maddie Shellgren (OLC), JP Bayard (CSUS), and Gerry Hanley (CSUS and MERLOT) – as they share some of their favorite STEM stories so far. 

Session Title: OLC Ideate Saloon: A Very Happy Happy Hour
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: It’s Day One of OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM! Join in at A Very Happy Happy Hour! For this happy hour we ask those joining to spread happiness with some fun activities. Participants can share a visual image and story that makes you happy, share your happy place, or share a Zoom background that brings you happiness. Grab your favorite beverage and snacks and join us in spreading happiness and listening to live tunes.  Led by hosts Maddie Shellgren (OLC), JP Bayard (CSUS), and Gerry Hanley (CSUS and MERLOT).

 

VoiceThread Presentations

Session Title: Introducing TableTop Science’s Virtual Laboratory Activities
Presenter: Bobby Bailey, PhD
Abstract: A brief walk-through of TableTop Science’s approach to virtual laboratory activities

Session Title: Virtual biology labs using HHMI BioInteractive
Presenter: Annie Prud’homme-Genereux and Tara Jo Holmberg
Abstract: How can learners practice scientific thinking, experimentation, data collection and data analysis, when in-person labs are not possible? HHMI BioInteractive has developed high-quality virtual biology laboratories, based on the work of – and in collaboration with – leading biologists. In these free, high quality lab activities, learners handle virtual lab equipment, take measurements using authentic artifacts, analyze the data, and reach conclusions. Topics range from ecology to evolution to microbiology to molecular biology.

Session Title: Online Chemistry Labs. A  50:50 approach between Virtual and hands on experience experiments
Presenter: Jacqueline Ruiz
Abstract: Chemistry lab courses are mainly designed for students to perform experiments in a laboratory setting. During experiments students will record live observations and obtain their own data. The main purpose is to expose students to a real scientific experience where they can observe collect their own data and obtain results. Students will use their observation to render explanations to their results. The pandemic force us to move to online and the description given above does not seem to fit into an online setting. A completely 100% virtual lab was not a choice because the number of virtual labs is still limited. A 100% labs at home was ideal however, organic chemistry are still a challenge to do it at home because they many of them require the use of volatile solvent that increase risk of exposure by inhalation. The question was: How can I offer Introductory Organic Chemistry Lab online keeping the current SLO’s and at the same time following safety regulations? After reviewing both virtual labs and at home labs it was found that a 50:50 approach of at home experiment using a lab kit and virtual labs provided as integrated link resulted to be the best combination. Student’s feedback for their learning experience was positive.

Session Title: BioInteractive Simulations as Asynchronous Guided Inquiry: A Statistical Literacy Example and Virtual Lab Playlist
Presenter: Steven Rogg   
Abstract: Simulations are particularly beneficial when they provide the learner with ways to investigate phenomena that are otherwise not possible (or safe) in the laboratory or field. As asynchronous tutorials, interactive simulations can also support personalized guided inquiry-based learning. In this session, practical ideas are shared from experiences with students, spanning high school to the graduate level. Discussion highlights how to leverage resources as guided inquiry while explicitly promoting attributes of personalized learning — giving learners agency and flexibility in time, place, and active use of supportive resources. This session highlights an interactive simulation for promoting statistical literacy: Sampling and Normal Distribution – and shares a playlist of virtual labs for biology, physiology, and science practices: Bacterial Identification, Cardiology, Immunology, Lizard Evolution, Neurophysiology, Stickleback Evolution, and the Transgenic Fly Virtual Lab. BioInteractive resources are always free for educators and never contain ads.

Session Title: Incorporating Virtual Labs into a Virtual Engineering Learning Environment
Presenter: Dennis Dahlquist
Abstract: Virtual labs are integrated in to an engineering environment for students to explore various scenarios to solidify key course concepts. The Virtual Learning Environment provides students a way to experience an engineering team and the current practicing engineering work environment.

Session Title: 20 Unknown Compounds an Introgressive-Hybrid Online Approach to Internalizing Concepts in Organic Chemistry
Presenter: Nadene Houser-Archield
Abstract: It begins with a 20-minute recitation on Infrared spectroscopy, and subsequent group problem solving in the LMS breakout rooms. Each group starts a Google Document and grants me editing rights. Via the LMS, the IR spectra of the liquids among the 20 Unknowns, and a mixture of IUPAC and common names for the Knowns are disseminated. I model navigation of the online Handbook of Chemistry and Physics; afterwards, in the breakout rooms, groups lookup the structures and physical properties of the Knowns. I model the use of ChemSketch and Marvin Sketch “freewares” for drawing molecules, and the Snipping tool, ChemSketch, Word Draw Tool, and Word insert tools for annotating chromophores on the spectra. Lab groups organize themselves to accomplish these tasks; they also group together Unknowns with like IR chromophores, and similarly group together Knowns whose IR spectra are likely to be similar. In the second phase, a list of qualitative analysis and physical tests, complete with visuals of what positive and negative results look like is disseminated via LMS. Each group composes a flowchart of the tests they will perform to identify Unknowns, complete with what the visuals results should be. I supply customized visual results for each group’s flowchart. After IR and qual analysis there are still unidentified Unknowns; therefore, in separate sessions, I conduct recitations and problem sessions for 13C-NMR and 1HNMR and then disseminate spectra for several of the Unknowns that are otherwise unidentifiable.

Session Title: Using Virtual Labs to Support Non-Traditional STEM Students
Presenter: Tasia Hilton-Betton
Abstract: To be added soon.

Session Title: Making the most of what you have: Our experience moving to an online asynchronous STEM laboratory
Presenter: Valerie Hedges and Jennifer Taylor
Abstract: The move to remote learning necessitated our large enrollment upper-level neuroscience laboratory course be delivered online and asynchronously. Due to the success of our in-person laboratory exercises, our goal was to augment current exercises to be delivered online through familiar and easy to use tools while still meeting our learning goals: our university Learning Management System (delivery of course materials), Google Classroom (assignment of worksheets), and Eli Review (peer review of writing). For instructor-led, primarily formative, portions of the course, we substituted low-tech alternative activities for those that would have been completed in person that aligned with corresponding experimental worksheets in the areas of electroencephalography, crayfish neurophysiology, animal models of Parkinson’s Disease, neuroanatomy, and optogenetics. This approach allowed students to collect their own data, conduct statistical analyses, and report their findings. A significant portion of the course is typically student-driven, requiring teams design an experiment to investigate a topic of interest, discuss decisions with instructors, conduct that experiment, and report findings by writing a manuscript. We utilized strategies from our formative online activities to create an experience where students individually completed similar tasks through the use of guided worksheets, instructor feedback, and discussion forum posts. A benefit of this approach is that it allows the possibility of hosting a parallel online experience to the in-person course, which would allow for flexibility in course delivery modality.

Session Title: What is the vision for this Online STEM Labs Expo?
Presenter: JP Bayard and Gerry Hanley
Abstract: While COVID-19 has left, in our country, a trail of human and economic losses of catastrophic proportions, the conditions it has created – offer an opportunity to reconsider our educational institutions, their processes, strengths and weakness, and the role of technology in their offerings. As higher education institutions and their faculty ponder their method of course delivery this Fall, from face-to face, to hybrid, to fully online, the Online Learning Consortium and MERLOT saw an opportunity to provide a virtual space for STEM educators and technology partners to engage on the affordances of virtual labs for online laboratories. This proposal will share with the audience a ground-up vision for this timely virtual labs Expo, and how the authors hope to help educators make meaningful connections with technology partners and leaders, as well facilitate engagement with a larger community of STEM practitioners, on the opportunities which virtual labs offer for online laboratories.

Session Title: Opening Online Laboratory Science Courses to a World Community Suffering from the Coronavirus Pandemic
Presenter: Dr. James Brown
Abstract: This presentation will review the current state of online laboratory science course delivery and suggest future directions in today’s rapidly changing environment. Adaptations required due to the Coronavirus Pandemic serve to highlight the relevance of this material.

Session Title: Feedback in terms of carrying out remote practical work in STEMs: case of ToIP and multicast TPs
Presenter: Ghislain Kossingou and Bessan Degboe
Abstract: In this presentation, we propose a platform allowing a traditional university to carry out practical work remotely requiring the manipulation of physical resources available within its computer park. The platform was used to carry out practical work with students of bachelor degree in telecommunications and networks of the Central School of Free Software and Telecommunications of Dakar (EC2LT) for the courses of telephony over IP and multimedia over IP. Thanks to this platform, the continuity of courses while guaranteeing quality was ensured despite the barrier gestures imposed by the pandemic of the corona virus 19. Practical work is of great importance for the development of skills and the employability of students, especially in STEM.

Day 2 – August 20, 2020

Session Title: Day 2 Welcome Event
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Join the OLC and MERLOT as they kickoff Day 2 of OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM and discuss the importance of supporting Online, digital, and blended STEM. 

Session Title: OLC Ideate Labs Sponsor Remarks
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Join us for brief remarks from SPONSOR NAME on their commitment to supporting Online STEM. 

Session Title: *Put your audience inside the lesson with mixed reality and content you already posses
*If you attended this session, the substitute presenter was Gerry Hanley, Executive Director, MERLOT, and his presentation was: “A Taste of MERLOT: Open Virtual Labs and ePortfolios for STEM Educators” Please use this title if you would like to evaluate the session.
Presenter: Chris Stavros 
Abstract: Learn how XR can help any discipline express learning concepts in an entirely new and transformational way: by placing the audience inside the instructional materials you are already producing today.

The potential for mixed reality (XR) in education is evident. The technology is now affordable and relatively easy to cost justify. The most daunting barrier is getting fresh and relevant content to your audience in a manner that makes effective and repeatable use of the technology. 

During this session we will explore a new way to get your own pre-existing, audience-relevant content into mixed reality for collaboration and sharing with about as much effort as social media posting using makeSEA.com for Education + Catapult for XR collaboration. We will discuss what types of mixed reality learning experiences and interaction you are interested in achieving for instruction. And we’ll walk through a set of XR features including Web-based XR content publishing, real-time spatial collaboration, object manipulation and scene staging, exploding multipart objects with labels and descriptions, and integrating live and streaming video into XR-based or enhanced lessons.

Please join us for this session, and feel free to visit https://www.makeSEA.com for more information.

Session Title: Fitting PhET into Your Educational Space: Learn how to incorporate interactive and engaging PhET chemistry simulations into your virtual classroom!
Presenter: Elaine Villanueva Burnel 
Abstract: Participants will have the opportunity to explore the following PhET activities: Build an Atom, Balancing Chemical Reactions, Ideal Gas-Law, Acid-Base Solutions, and Energy Forms and Changes. The salon will include a group discussion on participant experience of the simulations and brainstorming instructional strategies using PhET through a Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) lens. For more information about the PhET Interactive Simulations project, visit phet.colorado.edu.

Session Title: Can Microbiology Lab Really be Done at Home?
Presenter: Shannon McGurk and Mary Mawn
Abstract: With the rapid growth of online education, one challenge that biology educators encounter is how to run microbiology lab courses online. In this session, we will share our experiences with building and offering online Microbiology labs. Using investigations that have been designed for the off-campus setting, while maintaining American Society of Microbiology (ASM) safety standards and college-level rigor, students are given the opportunity to experience the hands-on component of lab sciences taught online. Considerations such lab skills development, online interactions, safety and disposal, and online resources will be discussed.

Session Title: Using Interactive Multimedia Simulations and Virtual Laboratory Environments to deliver effective STEM Laboratory Experiences: Collective Experiences from the Southern University System (SUS) of Louisiana
Presenter: Moustapha Diack, Eduardo Martinez, Xiaoping Yi and Bashir Atteia
Abstract: Traditionally, STEM instruction at the undergraduate level has consisted of a lecture component and a hands-on laboratory. Until recent years, physical, hands-on laboratory experiences were the only experiences available. There are circumstances such as distance education limitations, costly equipment or supplies, inadequate lab space, or time constraints, where offering hands-on experiential work to students is not practical. This panel will discuss the collective experiences of faculty from the Southern University System (SUS) in implementing commercially available virtual laboratory environments and interactive multimedia curated from global repositories to deliver laboratory experiences in the Biological Sciences and Chemistry. There has been renewed interests in online and blended learning experiences that incorporate various combinations of virtual laboratory and traditional classroom instruction. Pedagogical approaches include (1) fully online; (2) supplement to actual laboratory assignments; (3) pre-lab or post-lab activities; (4) homework or quizzes; (5) make-up labs; (6) classroom demonstrations; (7) inquiry-based learning activities in groups; (8) blended/Hybrid model alternating traditional to virtual laboratory. The panel will discuss the merit of the pedagogical approaches and will share anecdotal report on students’ perceptions of the efficacy of strategies compared to face-to-face delivery. Finally, the panel will discuss the current efforts of the SU System in developing a multidisciplinary research agenda that is focused on investigating the effectiveness of virtual biology laboratories at an Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

Session Title: Engaging Students in Virtual Labs using Interactive Simulations. The PhET Interactive Simulations project.
Presenter: Ariel Paul
Abstract: The PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder has been providing free online interactive simulations for nearly 20 years with a focus educational equity. Over that time, through research, observation, and refinement we have developed successful strategies by which educators can leverage our resources as virtual labs. We will discuss how the successful implementation relies on the pillars of accessibility, engagement, and inquiry.

Session Title: Coffee Talk: Building Buy-In for Online Labs for STEM (Sponsored by Panopto)
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: STEM educators and leaders necessarily have to negotiate building buy-in across a range of stakeholders. Join us in this session to collaboratively brainstorm, discuss, and share strategies for community-driven variables to consider, resources, and tips and tricks. 

Session Title: Let’s Talk Research Part One: STEM Education in the COVID Era
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM and STEM Survey Collaborative
Abstract: With the global move remote and emergency response teaching came additionally cuts to funding (including research and travel). Hosted by the OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM and OLC Stem Survey Collaborative, in Part One of this research-centered session we discuss with colleagues what STEM research around education in the COVID era looks like. If you are looking to connect with others, talk all things research, brainstorm how you can integrate your teaching into your research practices, or simply inform future offerings related to STEM-education professional development (including those offered by the OLC and MERLOT) this is a session for you. Planning ahead for Part Two? We highly recommend you attend, if interested, as the session will focus on different conversational prompts.

Feel free to take our intro survey so we can gauge where you are with Online STEM: https://babson.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a30IjFCOBLTavch

Session Title: OLC Ideate Labs Sponsor Remarks
Presenter: TableTop Science
Abstract: Join us for brief remarks from TableTop Science on their commitment to supporting Online STEM.

Session Title: Online Project-Based Engineering Experimentation
Presenter: John M Sullivan Jr, Caitlin Keller, Valerie Smedile Rifkin, and Ahmet Sabuncu
Abstract: In the fall 2019 we launched a new experimentation course for suitable for online delivery. The project-based engineering experimentation course allowed students to perform all the experiments within their own living quarters. Each student was required to purchase a collection of sensors and microprocessor. The cost ranged from $75 to $150 depending upon which sensors and microprocessors the student selected. However, this cost was viewed as less than a textbook and the students retained all the components. This online course was designed to develop experimental skills in engineering measurement methods, based on electronic instrumentation and computer-based data acquisition systems, such as the Raspberry Pi and/or an Arduino. The course culminates with an open-ended project of the students choosing. This open-ended project illuminates the skills gained by the student to utilize multiple sensors and equipment to monitor and/or control physical situations. We designed the course in a modular fashion giving the students a great deal of freedom within each module. This course has 6 formative modules and an open-ended summative design project that uses the technical skillsets within the 6 learning modules that involve microprocessor, temperature, proximity, motors, concentrations, strains, experiments respectively. The student has multiple choices within each module. The final Open-Ended Project allows them to expand their horizons and make something useful that interests them! The requirements are that students must use a minimum of 3 sensors and/or controllers to perform some task. They are strongly encouraged to do something they Want to do.

Session Title: Thinking Outside (and Inside) the Box: Selecting the Best Lab Experiences for an Online University Classroom
Presenter: Clifford Blizard
Abstract: In this presentation, I will share the fruit of my experience as Subject Matter Expert designing and redesigning several lab courses in Earth and Environmental Science at three online universities. I have worked with all three of the most frequently chosen options: virtual labs (online), lab kits (from both of the current leading vendors), and “kitchen chemistry” lab activities for students; I am also a graduate of the OLC Mastery Series related to Online Science Labs. What I have learned from my work thus far is that there truly is no holy grail for online learning; the best selection for a particular context depends upon a number of factors, including instructional goals, the desire for true experiments vs. demonstrations, available resources, and time. I will also consider some of the challenges of online labs from a student’s perspective, such as the intimidation of “going it alone” without a university lab assistant, time management challenges when confronting the inherent complexity and duration of labs, and the desire to “get the right answer”. I will also highlight some of the affordances of online labs relative to bricks and mortar ones, including intergenerational learning and the opportunity for including labs that span days or even weeks. I will offer my thoughts about how we might develop more engaging lab experiences for students through giving them greater ownership over the process. Finally, I will invite attendees to ask questions and share their thoughts and experiences with online lab selection and implementation.

Session Title: Designing Online Labs that Engage Students
Presenter: Tamara Mitchell, Amy Prevost, and Jenny Loeb
Abstract: This interactive session will allow you to work with a program director at the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute), a scientist focusing on global communications from Promega Corporation’s Student Resource Center, and the Associate Director of Learning and Design from Oregon State University’s College of Science to develop or adapt your own online science lab using the 5E Model of Instruction. We will demonstrate a short virtual laboratory session and provide attendees with resources, tools, and guidance to outline your own online science lab. In closing, attendees will share their instructional outlines and participate in a facilitated discussion related to best practices in online instruction of laboratory work and applied approaches to overcoming barriers to engaging students in a virtual environment.

Session Title: Keeping It Real: Science-based Virtual Labs that Inspire Students in General Education STEM Courses
Presenter: Patricia Martner-Hewes, Debra Mc Laughlin, Robin Searles-Adenegan, Gro Torsethaugen (Sponsored by TableTop Science)
Abstract: We will discuss our experience with the implementation of virtual labs from TableTop Science in the online introductory physical science and biology courses at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC). We will present student success and faculty satisfaction data, discuss academic rigor, integrity, and accessibility, and compare the virtual labs with the previously used lab kits and hands-on experiments.

Session Title: Building Beyond: Leveraging Learning Design Principles for Connecting and Collaborating
Presenter: Madeline Shellgren and JP Bayard
Abstract: Conferences tend to be a wellspring of energy, resources and collaboration, but quite often it is hard to keep the connections going after leaving the live experience. Even more difficult, perhaps, is knowing where to start when joining in for the first time asynchronously after the live conference has ended. This session will resituate learning design principles often used in our work to help participants maximize the benefits of conference experiences like OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM. Participants will take part in a series of lightweight activities to reflect on their own experience at OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM so far, and learn several new practices for making every conference, convening or summit as impactful as possible. This presentation seeks to bend space and time, creating a point of engagement that can be completed live or later asynchronously as an on-demand professional development activity.

This presentation also seeks to rock you like a hurricane with sweet tunes and collaborative reflections. Whether you are watching this session live or watching back as an on-demand recording, grab a warm beverage and join us in crowdsourcing new ways to turn conferences into a launch pad for deeper engagement within and across our field writ large.

Session Title: From Passive Observer to Active Participant: Using Interactive Remote Demonstrations to Increase Student Involvement in Online Chemistry
Presenter: Daniel Zuidema
Abstract: The remote screen control feature in Zoom was used during an online summer session for high school students. This technique was used to draw students into actively participating in chemistry demonstrations where instrumentation was used to gather and analyze data. Students were surveyed at the conclusion of the summer session and had very positive reactions to this technique of enhancing student involvement.

Day 3 – August 21, 2020

Session Title: Day 3 Welcome Event
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Join the OLC, MERLOT, and a panel of thought leaders as they talk about the future of Online STEM labs.

Session Title: OLC Ideate Labs Sponsor Remarks
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Join us for brief remarks from SPONSOR NAME on their commitment to supporting Online STEM.

Session Title: Lessons Learned and Best Practices of Online Laboratory Science Course Delivery
Presenter: James Brown
Abstract: This presentation will review the current state of online laboratory science course delivery and suggest future directions in the rapidly changing environment. The Coronavirus Pandemic has heightened awareness of the important contributions that online courses offer as colleges and universities confront an unprecedented challenge. Lessons learned and best practices will be explored, and effective ways to reach beyond the “traditional” student to promote and celebrate diverse communities will be discussed. Students who may have previously been excluded by the constraints of time, distance, family or work obligations can now be a vital part of the classroom and contribute rich, robust life experience and cultural perspectives to courses while widening their career options. I created the Online Learning Consortium Online Science Mastery Series and have taught online science totally online for nearly more than 15 years. On June 4, 2020, I delivered the keynote address entitled “Home-Based Hands-On Learning in Science” to Morgan State University and the National Science Foundation.

Session Title: Put your audience inside the lesson with mixed reality and content you already posses
Presenter: Chris Stavros 
Abstract: Learn how XR can help any discipline express learning concepts in an entirely new and transformational way: by placing the audience inside the instructional materials you are already producing today.

The potential for mixed reality (XR) in education is evident. The technology is now affordable and relatively easy to cost justify. The most daunting barrier is getting fresh and relevant content to your audience in a manner that makes effective and repeatable use of the technology. 

During this session we will explore a new way to get your own pre-existing, audience-relevant content into mixed reality for collaboration and sharing with about as much effort as social media posting using makeSEA.com for Education + Catapult for XR collaboration. We will discuss what types of mixed reality learning experiences and interaction you are interested in achieving for instruction. And we’ll walk through a set of XR features including Web-based XR content publishing, real-time spatial collaboration, object manipulation and scene staging, exploding multipart objects with labels and descriptions, and integrating live and streaming video into XR-based or enhanced lessons.

Please join us for this session, and feel free to visit https://www.makeSEA.com for more information.

Session Title: How virtual labs helped STEM education reach more students!
Presenter: Sara Milillo and Dr. Zach Bitzer
Abstract: This session will cover how The American Women’s College at Bay Path University has used virtual labs to help increase the reach of STEM education to more students. We will discuss how we got buy in for, sourced, and implemented virtual labs in over ten online science courses. Using a mixture of approaches depending on the content demands, we have been able to meet faculty expectations and student learning needs. The process has required close coordination between faculty and academic technology support staff but has resulted in a positive STEM learning experience for students who might otherwise not have been able to take a STEM course in a traditional format.

Session Title: Utilizing Simulators in Physics and Physical Science Labs
Presenter: Esperanza Zenon
Abstract: This session will focus on open web-based simulators that can be used in Physics and Physical Science labs. Participants will discuss assignments that they are currently utilizing with simulators, as well as new activities that can be utilized with the simulators. Incorporating simulators into lectures and classroom discussions will also be covered. Takeaways will include a list of simulators and accompanying activities.

Session Title: Unforeseen benefits of a virtual CURE: the student perspective
Presenter: Joe Ross
Abstract: As much as faculty can work with administration and external partners to develop the expertise and resources necessary to launch a virtual lab activity, it is important to recognize and consult the student perspective to ensure that the university is taking actions that ultimately benefit the learners. Integrating virtual activities into a laboratory course might meet resistance from students, so it is valuable to design the course to highlight the benefits (and also mention the drawbacks) of virtual labs. In our conversation, we will explore the student perspective of a virtual lab experience based on IRB-approved human subjects research surveys of students who have participated in a virtual Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) laboratory. Their feedback suggested some benefits of virtual labs that the instructors had not yet considered, including the elimination of resource bottlenecks and an increase in scheduling flexibility. The data suggest that students enjoyed the virtual CURE, and these data will be valuable to share with stakeholders, including students, to demonstrate the value of virtual labs. Our present circumstances with COVID-19 can help catalyze incorporation of more virtual lab components, and now is a great time to take action to demonstrate their value.

Session Title: Pivoting Online During A Pandemic: Bringing the Science Laboratory Online
Presenter: Caitlin Runne-Janczy and Marc LaBella
Abstract: With the COVID pandemic closing campuses around the world, instructors are left needing to move their lab online quickly. How do you take a physical laboratory experience and transition it to a distance-learning environment safely and effectively? During this webinar, we will address the primary concerns instructors are encountering with moving their laboratory course online and what Science Interactive Group is doing to support instructor needs. Join us for a preview of our quality lab solutions, including our partnerships with Biodigital and Odigia, that we’re offering to help institutions pivot online during a pandemic.

Session Title: Coffee Talk: Community Building Through STEM Stories (Sponsored by VoiceThread)
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM centers storytelling as central not just to the event design but also our practices as educators. Join us in this session to hear from colleagues (or share your own) about their favorite ways to incorporate storytelling into their practice as STEM educators and how we can leverage story for community building across the spaces we work.

Session Title: Let’s Talk Research Part Two: STEM Education in the COVID Era
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM and STEM Survey Collaborative
Abstract: With the global move remote and emergency response teaching came additionally cuts to funding (including research and travel). Hosted by the OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM and OLC Stem Survey Collaborative, in Part Two of this research-centered session we discuss with colleagues what STEM research around education in the COVID era looks like. If you are looking to connect with others, talk all things research, brainstorm how you can integrate your teaching into your research practices, or simply inform future offerings related to STEM-education professional development (including those offered by the OLC and MERLOT) this is a session for you. Looking back and considering Part One? We highly recommend you watch the recording back, if interested, as the session focuses on different conversational prompts.

Feel free to take our intro survey so we can gauge where you are with Online STEM: https://babson.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a30IjFCOBLTavch

Session Title: OLC Ideate Labs Sponsor Remarks
Presenter: HHMI
Abstract: Join us for brief remarks from HHMI on their commitment to supporting Online STEM.

Session Title: Using a modular approach to online biology labs with HHMI BioInteractive’s Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab (Sponsored by HHMI)
Presenter: Tara Jo Holmberg and Annie Prud’homme-Genereux
Abstract: The story of the evolution of Anolis sp. in the Caribbean is a powerful case study in several important biology concepts including: science practice, evolution, adaptation, accuracy, precision, and graphing. HHMI BioInteractive’s Lizards Virtual Lab provides students a holistic virtual lab experience with case study, hands-on, and critical thinking approaches. Four modules, plus extensions of the case, allow students to explore evolutionary trade-offs, test questions of phylogenetics relationships, and investigate “what-if” scenarios, providing hands-on inquiry of real-world questions.

Session Title: How to Increase Student Engagement and ConnectEDness in Online Labs
Presenter: Jory Basso
Abstract: Moving labs to online can create student engagement challenges for educators. Instructors teaching online may be missing in-person student realities such as laughter and non-verbal cues including eye contact and facial expressions. Because of this new reality, instructors and students alike may feel disconnected during online delivery. Join Dr. Jory Basso for an evocative discussion on how to break the disconnect and create better student engagement and connectedness. Dr. Basso is an Associate Professor and BioSci Faculty Lead at Southern California University of Health Sciences. He built a successful integrative health clinic as a Chiropractor/Sports Therapist in downtown Toronto prior to moving his family to California to teach full-time and occasionally surf. Dr. Basso has presented educational content at multiple international corporations, served as a health/fitness expert on TV, wrote 90+ blog articles and created 70+ videos for the HybridDrJ YouTube channel. He is completing his Master of Education in Digital Learning and is passionate about empowering individuals with health and science education.

Session Title: Virtual Laboratory for Experiential Life Sciences Education
Presenter: Emre Toker
Abstract: We are developing an ever-expanding and ever-more realistic portfolio of instructor-customized, online virtual experiential education courses to efficiently and effectively train the nation’s next generation of biomedical and life sciences workforce, with special emphasis on providing access to educational institutions serving disadvantaged populations and disadvantaged regions such as rural communities.  The virtual environment will incorporate not only realistic visual modelling of all laboratory components and equipment but will over time incorporate more and more complete mathematical models of all processes (for example, “what happens if I set this dial to 20, instead of the recommended 10?”) to enhance curiosity- and hypothesis-driven learning through experimentation and mistakes.  Virtual labs will not replace but enhance physical labs and will provide an effective alternative where construction or maintenance of a physical lab is prohibitively costly.  We aims to transform experiential online learning by focusing on the specific problem of laboratory sciences and by adhering to four pillars: (1) Customizable – instructors are given the ability to utilize their creativity for student education and have control over the tools they use. Our platform will consist of visual and mathematical models of modular elements (i.e. Bunsen burner package) that can be changed, arranged and implemented to suit instructor specific objectives; (2) Accessible – our platform will accommodate a wide variety of settings, ensuring that specialized equipment and infrastructure (powerful graphics hardware, high speed internet >25 Mbps) will not be required. The platform will run optimally on readily available, low-cost devices such as a Chromebook or an entry level smartphone with a reasonable (~30 Mbps) internet connection; (3) Adaptable – we will conform to user’s needs – easy to use, integration with gradebook, cross platform – rather than require adaptation from the user; (4) Engaging – our platform is designed for the digital lifestyle student, providing an engaging, realistic environment that offers the highest levels of graphic animation without compromising on educational outcomes.

Session Title: Student engagement through integrating kitchen chemistry with virtual labs and Internet of Things (IOT) activities
Presenter: Robert Belford, Elena Lisitsyna, Phil Williams and David Yaron
Abstract: This presentation will describe a 5-week online summer general chemistry lab taught at the University of Arkansas Little Rock in June 2020, which merged kitchen chemistry activities with virtual labs and Internet of Things (IOT) experimental data streams. We will demonstrate a heat of neutralization lab in real time where temperature data is transmitted from a Raspberry Pi in a “student’s kitchen” to a Google Sheet, and how the Pi can be controlled by another student who is remotely accessing it over the internet. We will follow this with a second thermodynamics lab where students used the ChemCollective Virtual Lab (http://www.chemcollective.org/) to calculate the specific heat capacity of an unknown metal, and how combining virtual labs with IOT activities can provide for multifaceted student engagement. The class was hosted in the LibreText OER (https://chem.libretexts.org/link?211033), assignments submitted through Google Classroom, students worked in groups of 4 using Zoom Breakout rooms while collaboratively editing Google Docs and Sheets. We will share our experiences in this collaborative group environment and discuss the importance of online teamwork with regards to lab safety, especially when students could physically be at home alone. Although this was our first attempt at this, we believe that integrating IOT into online labs that leverage virtual activities with kitchen chemistry can bring a real and meaningful hands on experience to an online lab course like general chemistry.

Session Title: A Virtual Chemistry Lab to Enhance Research Deconstruction
Presenter: Dermot Donnelly
Abstract: Research Deconstruction is a low-cost and effective pedagogical approach that guides novice undergraduate students through the analysis of a cutting-edge research presentation over the course of a semester.  Such an approach can be supported both in physical and online seminar formats, and teaches students key concepts and important experimental methodologies. This participant-centered, activity-based session will invite participants to engage in and reflect on the use of an open-source virtual chemistry lab, Chemcollective, while brainstorming its compatibility for facilitating research deconstruction. Participants will also be encouraged to network and consider how research deconstruction can be applied to their teaching context.

Session Title: Laboratory Innovations with Technology: Creating, capturing, and sustaining your community of practice for online STEM labs
Presenter: Gerry Hanley and JP Bayard
Abstract: Developing a culture of innovations in the area of online STEM laboratories requires some intentionality. This proposal will share insights on how the largest educational system in the U.S. created and funded, over the course of five years, a course redesign program which helped STEM faculty redesign their laboratory courses with technology-enabled innovations. Topics of discussion will include vision for the program, faculty development, assessment of redesigns, how to sustain community and sharing amongst peers, and finally lessons learned from program leaders.

Session Title: OLC Ideate Saloon: Event Close and Escape Room Fun!
Presenter: The OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Team
Abstract: Think you’ve got what it takes to solve your way out of a sticky situation? Well then jump right in and put your mad skills to the test in this virtual version of supreme fun. You’ll have only 20 minutes to solve your way out of this conundrum and bring critical survival supplies back to the lab.