Virtual Simulation Lab Experiments versus Conventional Experiments in Teaching Physics - Comparative Study

Abstract

The debate regarding the use of virtual (online) labs and conventional (in lab) labs in teaching is still going on. The educators are divided into three groups regarding this issue, some are in favor of using virtual labs more than conventional ones, others are in favor of using the conventional labs more in teaching and the third group are in favor in implementing virtual experiments side by side with the conventional ones. The student opinions are very important for educators to get an in-field insight into their experience of using virtual labs. This will help the educators to decide which is more effective in teaching. We have conducted a survey on one of our Physics-2425 classes, seeking the opinions of the students about the use of virtual-simulation experiments versus the use of conventional experiments. During the lab period, the students worked on both types of experiments and some of the experiments were about the same physics principles. Our results show that working virtual labs enables the students to get more understanding than when working the conventional one due to the reduced limitations that the students usually encounter when working conventional labs due to the limited space/time. Other findings will be presented in this paper.