Practical classes serve the following purposes to science and engineering students.
- Understanding scientific concepts.
- Determining interest and motivation.
- Acquiring scientific practical skills and problem-solving abilities.
- Forming scientific habits of mind.
- Understanding the nature of science.
- Learning the skill of measuring and handling equipments
There are many practical problems of conducting practical classes online during the pandemic situation due to COVID-19. Practical classes are very important to engineering and science graduates. When we studied Physics, Chemistry and Biology in higher secondary school, our school masters gave great importance to practical classes. However, many schools do not give much importance to practical sessions due to lack of funds and laboratory infrastructure. And, now, due to the impact of COVID-19, none of the schools have conducted any practical classes and simply prompted the students to write the practical records for the examination purpose and gave marks at random.
We cannot blame the schools for not conducting the practical classes, since no one knows how to conduct the practical sessions online. Some schools attempted practical videos and simulations. Yet, handling the laboratory instruments and glassware is the essential part of exploring physics, chemistry and biology.
Students can purchase small laboratory equipments for their practice at home but with all essential safety measures. Local students can start a small laboratory with the support of science and engineering teachers and can practice at least some simple experiments. Please visit this laboratory hub.
One can attempt simulations and videos to explore scientific experiments. We have given below some important links to explore on virtual laboratory.
- https://virtual.edu.rsc.org/ for chemistry practicals
- https://www.vlab.co.in/ for engineering and science practicals
- https://vlab.amrita.edu/ for science and engineering practicals
