Investigation of bacteria and detergent residues on undergraduate students' dinner plates in dormitories during university lockdown.

The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted undergraduate students' experiments since their access to the laboratory is limited. To address this problem, the bacteria and detergent residues on undergraduate students' dinner plates were investigated by the students in the dormitories. Five different types of dinner plates from 50 students were collected, which were cleaned with detergent and water in the same way and naturally dried. Then, Escherichia coli (E. coli) test papers and sodium dodecyl sulfonate test kits were used to understand the bacteria and detergent residuals. Commonly available equipment such as a yogurt maker was used for bacterial culture; detergent analyses were performed using centrifugation tubes. Effective sterilization methods and safety protection were achieved by dormitory available methods. According to the investigated results, the students found the differences in bacteria and detergent residuals between different dinner plates and made suitable choices for the future.

Identifying unknown specimens using predictive phylogenies for remote forensic education.

One significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for educators in forensic science was adapting what is traditionally a very applied field to a virtual learning environment. Because of this, science classes with a practical laboratory component had to implement significant adjustments to ensure that student learning objectives were still met, including practical elements. To provide learners with an alternative to a traditional lab exercise in forensic entomology, we designed an exercise to be conducted completely remotely to instruct students in how to identify a real unknown specimen using a hypothetical phylogenetic tree they create. Students retrieved data and make predictions using public databases, generate phylogenies based off sequence data, and finally determine the identity of the unknown sequence provided. This lab replacement exercise has been adapted to be accessible to learners from different academic levels and takes the length of one two-and-a-half-hour lab period to complete. Through creating this resource, we have been able to link molecular systematics to forensic education and provide learners who download this publicly available exercise insight into how forensic questions are answered.

A digital module-based experiential learning in protein biochemistry during the COVID-19 pandemic paradigm.

Experiential learning is compromised in meeting the educational demands of our students during the challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic. A more inclusive, flexible, and objective-oriented experiential learning environment is required. In this context, module-based experiential learning that is executable on a digital platform was designed. The learning module focused on protein biochemistry, contained a combination of asynchronous and synchronous activities categorized into 'Knowledge Hub' and 'Lab-based Movie', across 5 weeks. Digital and module-based experiential learning provides equitable, inclusive, and flexible access to students at remote locations. Furthermore, it is an objective-oriented and highly organized experiential learning framework that encourages students to engage and participate more in the learning process.

Home-based physiology labs in the time of COVID-19 prove popular with medical students.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting "lockdown" have forced many medical schools to shift from traditional "face-to-face" teaching methodologies and embrace full online delivery. Although lectures and tutorials are readily communicated by this approach, the execution of laboratory exercises is much more difficult. To overcome these challenges, face-to-face laboratory sessions were replaced by a blended learning approach in which students were provided instructional material online and then required to conduct the laboratory exercises at home. These laboratory exercises made use of easily accessible household materials and mobile applications. A self-report survey was designed to assess students' perception of their learning experience and attitudes to the home-based laboratory exercises. The survey consisted of 16 questions that students had to respond to using a 5-point Likert scale. Students were also allowed to provide open responses to select questions. Overall, the 80% of students that completed the survey expressed strong satisfaction with their learning experience and were enthusiastic toward home-based laboratory exercises. However, concerns about not being able to complete particular face-to-face exercises that required specialized equipment were expressed. Several students proposed a combined approach going forward. Our results show that home-based laboratory exercises offer a multimodal option that enriches the learning curriculum by engaging students in "hands-on" bespoke practicals using inexpensive household materials.

Pandemic Teaching: Creating and teaching cell biology labs online during COVID-19.

The year 2020 will forever be remembered as a season of pandemic teaching due to rising COVID-19 infections. Institutions of higher learning abruptly changed from in-person to online in attempts to minimize COVID-19 spread. Due to this, we created and taught online cell biology labs in response to the COVID-19 campus shutdown. Our virtual cell biology lab course emphasized molecular and cellular biology methods that can be used to study cells. Our report includes cell biology lab descriptions, learning outcomes, skills learned, lab set up and format, virtual tools used, lab sources, and lessons learned. We show how creative online lab alternatives can provide students valuable scientific learning experiences when in-person learning is not possible.

SARS-CoV-2 virtual biochemistry labs on bioinformatics and drug design.

Colleges and universities are learning to provide relevant virtual lab experiences for students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even schools attempting in-person instruction often need to utilize virtual experiences for students absent due to quarantine or illness. Much of biochemistry is amenable to molecular visualization and/or computational study; however, many faculty face learning how to utilize new computational and molecular visualization software. We present a set of virtual lab exercises with detailed instructions to engage students in the discovery of novel antiviral compounds against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease.

Virtual laboratory lessons in enzymology.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread lock-down strategies that force universities to perform all educational activities remotely. In this context, laboratory lessons pose a significant challenge. Here, I present an on-line tool that simulates the kinetics of chemical reactions. Enzymatic mechanisms can be easily modeled and followed through time. In addition, professors can customize the interface to hide the reaction mechanism. This setting will force students to design virtual experiments to uncover the mechanism and obtain the relevant enzymatic parameters. While some of the skills developed in a practical lesson cannot be simulated, this tool can be used to teach students important concepts about data acquisition and processing.

Chemistry in a cup of coffee: Adapting an online lab module for teaching specific heat capacity of beverages to health sciences students during the COVID pandemic.

The present pandemic has hurled organizations into a new social "norm"-and academia is not exempt. As a result, a novel pedagogy has evolved, demanding mechanisms of social distance teaching and learning be developed. This new era in education has learning institutions acquiring, adapting or even designing online STEM labs for physical science courses-replacing face-to-face teaching laboratory settings. The difficulty of designing science practicum that promotes student engagement and relates scientific principles to "real life" has heightened as we shift to more online instruction. Therefore, a necessity to develop contemporary methods of promoting student engagement and participation in an online learning environment has become apparent. Here, a virtual lab course designed for health science majors, utilized an online lab module and, with the use of a learning management system, adapted it to illustrate the principles of specific heat capacity in "real life": hot coffee. Students enrolled in the lab course were able to perform a virtual lab, complete calculations, compare calculated and experimental values, and relate the experimental chemistry topics to healthcare in a lab report. Following the lab experience, students completed an anonymous and voluntary qualitative survey in which they recommended this lab exercise for future classes.

A virtual ELISA to quantitate COVID-19 antibodies in patient serum.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are used widely in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and clinical medicine labs. At the same time, they appear to be underrepresented in chemistry and biochemistry curricula, even though their sensitivity, selectivity, and ease of use would argue for their widespread use. We describe here an online ELISA activity suitable for stand-alone use or in conjunction with an actual wet lab ELISA. Specifically, we offer real and mock data for a hypothetical ELISA to detect plasma antibodies to COVID-19 in infected patients who have had the disease. Much of the activity focuses on chemical and mathematical models to fit ELISA or any macromolecule/ligand binding data, a skill that addresses perhaps the most relevant and difficult learning goal of an ELISA experiment.