Virtual Chemistry Labs

The chemistry simulations software is designed for students, to do things in a chemistry lab except for that it is being done in the computer. It has many advantages for both students and teachers.

The following are the advantages of using simulations;

1. It saves much time and cost. It saves time since the instruction is made clear and easy in simulation and students understand the principles of working with it before actually doing it in the real-chemistry lab. Teachers’ need not give much instruction because simulation is very much student-driven. It saves cost because students do not waste chemicals or break equipments for not knowing what to expect of mixing certain chemicals. Students get a chance to try out new things in a virtual-lab which would be risky in the real-lab.
   

2. It helps the teacher to know where a student fails to understand, by checking the assignments that the student did in the virtual lab-assignment book and the student could be corrected before actually doing it wrongly in the real-lab. The teacher could pay attention to individualized instruction by looking at the performance of every student.
   

3. Simulations help the student to try what they learned in the class and check if that is true. Students get a chance to explore what they know and learn to figure out their own way of doing things.
   

There are many advantages in using simulations for other content areas which involve certain risks for students. For example while using simulations for dissections. Students could interact with the dissecting animal and could examine what happens inside the animals without getting hurt or dirty. There is also no killing of animal (getting permission form the Institutional Review Board) and need not worry about accidental cuts and wounds while using forceps, knives and scissors.

Simulations could help the students understand the circumstance and react accordingly. For example, to teach topics like; what happens if students do deep-sea diving without prior experience? Simulations could offer such learning experience and students can understand how to react and make decisions if they encounter such circumstances in their real-life. So, simulations offer different learning experience that students would not normally experience. This helps them to get prepared for some unexpected situations or circumstances.

The tasks that involve students to investigate, inquire and discover could be very well taught using simulations. Learning-by-doing, discovery learning, constructivism, inquiry method and meaningful learning are some of the learning methods that could be implemented in computer simulated classroom environments.