Can a Microbiology Lab Be Taught Online? (Is This Guy Crazy or What?)

As colleges transition to teaching a wider variety of online science courses, a recurring question is how to replace “hands-on” science laboratory experiences with meaningful online learning experiences. Recent changes in student populations, availability of technology solutions, and shrinking college budgets have moved this discussion from “should we” to “how do we build quality” online lab courses. In this session I will show the fully online Microbiology of Human Diseases Lab course (MCB 2000L) that I have built and taught over the past few years; and will briefly discuss the process and issues of building an online science course, briefly demonstrate some technology-based solutions that allow me to teach to the same student learning outcomes as our traditional face-to-face course, compare student outcomes for the online vs. face-to-face versions of this course at my college, and share student feedback.