iNaturalist
iNaturalist is a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. It is a social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. This is a repository where observations are recorded, shared, and discussed among scientists.
Global Biodiversity Information (GBIF)
GBIF is an international network and data infrastructure. The GBIF network of participating countries and organizations is a large collaboration to provide free and open access to biodiversity data. This knowledge derives from many sources, including everything from museum specimens collected in the 18th and 19th centuries to geotagged smartphone photos shared by amateur naturalists in recent days and weeks.
Zooniverse
The research provided through Zooinvrese is collected by volunteers who come together to assist professional researchers. Open access research provides datasets useful to the wider research community.
BudBurst
Budburst is a community-based repository bringing together researchers, educators, and scientists to share, collaborate, and participate in projects contributing to conservation action. The primary focus of Budburst is nature and the effects of climate change on plants and animals and how we can mitigate those effects.
Wolfram
Wolfram is a computation language unifying algorithms, data, notebooks, and linguistics. Wolfram’s objective is to achieve cross-component, cross-department, cross-project workflows with highly readable and executable code across desktop, cloud, and mobile.
WolframOne
Wolfram|One is a fully cloud-desktop hybrid, integrated computation platform—the ideal entry point to using the full capabilities of the Wolfram technology stack.
Wolfram Demonstrations
12,000+ Interactive Wolfram Notebooks and demonstrations for education, research, recreation.
Mathmatica
Developed through the Wolfram platform, Mathematica is a symbolic mathematical computation program, sometimes called a computer algebra program, used in many scientific, engineering, mathematical, and computing fields.
Carolina
Carolina Distance Learning provides at-home, hands-on lab kits for college-level distance science education including biology, chemistry, physics, geology, anatomy and physiology, and environmental science.
Science Interactive Lab Kits
Science Interactive is the recent merging of eScience Labs and Hands on Labs, both with 20 years of science lab kit development and experience. They offer science lab experiments across A&P/Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Allied Health, Forensic Science and the Earth Sciences.
Open Educational Resources: Simulations & Virtual Labs
Arthur Lakes Library
Colorado School of Mines
This section of OER resources include simulations and Virtual Labs, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. It is a collection of curated resources and predefined experiments and lessons.
National Science Digital Library
This resource provides high-quality online educational resources for teaching and learning. The NSDL collection contains structured descriptive information (metadata) about web-based educational resources held on other sites by their providers.
Merlot
Merlot is an OER providing access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools, led by an international community of educators, learners and researchers.
Mint Project from Rochester Institute of Technology
Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs) are short (15-20 minutes) online videos that use live-action and incorporate interactive features that let users make predictions, analyze data, answer questions and reflect on what they have learned.
Avida-ED
Avida-ED is an educational application developed at Michigan State University for undergraduate biology courses to help students learn about evolutionary mechanisms and science practices. It allows students to design and perform experiments to test hypotheses about evolution using digital organisms.
BioInteractive
BioInteractive is a collection of data-rich activities and case studies, as well as quality videos and interactive media. It also provides planning tools to build resource playlists and storylines and professional learning materials for educators.
LiveScribe Pencast
A pencast is an interactive format that allows you to link recorded audio to your notes. Pencasts allow you to hear, see and relive notes exactly as they were captured. By tapping on any word, you can hear what was recorded at the exact moment you wrote it.
North Carolina State Organic Chemistry Virtual Experiences
NC State VR Organic Chemistry Labs
Through an exploratory grant project, DELTA worked with Teaching Associate Professor and Director of Organic Chemistry Labs Maria Gallardo-Williams to produce immersive, virtual reality organic chemistry lab experiences. The team used a first-person point-of-view approach using a GoPro Fusion 360° camera to further immerse the students in the experience.
Virtual Lab Example
Paper discussing the pilot in detail:
Production and Evaluation of a Realistic Immersive Virtual Reality Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experience: Infrared Spectroscopy
Cathi L. Dunnagan, Devran A. Dannenberg, Michael P. Cuales, Arthur D. Earnest, Richard M. Gurnsey, Maria T. Gallardo-Williams
Journal of Chemical Education 2020, 97, 1, 258-262
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00705
SimBio – Simulated biology
SimBio produces software that uses sophisticated interactive simulations to teach biology in an inquiry-driven learning style. These products allow students to conduct simulated experiments similar to those performed by practicing scientists, in fields of biology where live experiments are impractical or impossible.
UCAR Center for ScienceEducation
The Center for Science Education provides a collection of simulations and games for learning about Earth science for K-12 and Higher Education environments.
PhET
Instructors have access to this free service which provides simulation-specific tips and video primers, resources for teaching with simulations, and activities shared by our teacher community.
Examples:
Building an Atom
Balancing equations
Labster
Providing virtual science labs for a large variety of disciplines, Labster develops fully interactive advanced lab simulations based on mathematical algorithms that support open-ended investigations. They combine these with gamification elements such as an immersive 3D universe, storytelling and a scoring system.
PraxiLabs
Simulations for the major experiments of Biology, Chemistry & Physics. PraxiLabs provides students with an immersive and interactive 3D simulation of a realistic lab. They provide a variety of study aids and assessments.
Visible Body Application
Visible Body is an augmented 3D suite providing comprehensive and detailed visual anatomy data. Currently, this application is available through a UT Library subscription.
Learn ArcGIS for Professors
Real-world, scenario-driven exercises for teaching GIS and spatial data science. Students are able to enhance GIS skills in areas such as data collection, data engineering, analysis visualization, 3D analytics, business intelligence, and AI.
Go Lab
GoLab provides prebuilt classroom interactive labs. Students can conduct scientific experiments in an online environment. Remotely operated labs offer an opportunity to experiment with real equipment from remote locations. Data sets present data from already performed lab experiments.
CloudLabs
CloudLabs Virtual STEM offers learning, training, practice, games, and motivation for future STEM professionals. There are a variety of virtual packages within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Virtual Amrita Laboratories
This project is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Department under the National Mission on Education through ICT. These experiments and labs is hosted for open access through the main project website www.vlab.co.in .
Lab Options for Distance Delivery
Stanford Virtual Labs Project
Washington State University
The Stanford Virtual Labs Project began in 1998 with funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to create online interactive media which help students learn difficult concepts in human biology.
North American Network of Science Labs Online
NANSLO provided students located anywhere in the world with access to science laboratories. Students use a web-enabled interface to control robotics connected to high-quality scientific equipment to perform activities and collect data for assigned lab activities.
BioDigital
This 3D anatomy software allows instructors to seamlessly create interactive, engaging digital lecture and lab materials. 3D anatomy and disease asset can be customized, embed, and shared into any learning environment – enhancing student engagement and understanding.
Coronavirus Interactive 3D Media Assets
These resources are being made freely available to help the public understand the science behind the Coronavirus. You or your organization may use them in any online or broadcast publication. Please provide notice to info@biodigital.com and include BioDigital attribution when used. Note, although these resources have been created with leading virologists, they are for information purposes only and should not be used for medical decisions.
MorphoSource
MorphoSource has approximately 27,000 published 3D models of biological specimens (largely skeletal material). Around 13,000 of these are open access and can be freely downloaded for further visualization or measurement.
Sketchfab
Publish and find 3D models through Sketchfab. Create, buy, sell, share and embed 3D models.
Virtual Laboratories in Undergraduate Science and Engineering Course: a Systematic Review, 2009-2019: Shalaunda M. Reeves & Kent J. Crippen
This study involved a systematic review and synthesis of 25 peer-reviewed empirical research papers published between 2009 and 2019 that focused on V-Labs. The results reveal a dearth of varied theoretical and methodological approaches where studies have principally been evaluative and narrowly focused on individual changes in content knowledge.