Augmented Titration Setup for Future Teaching Laboratories

Abstract

Teaching laboratories are designed to educate students on basic theories and techniques through guided laboratory experiments. As advances in automation revolutionize research chemistry laboratories, teaching tools can advance to reflect these changes. In this study, we integrated several programmable instruments, including automated pumps for liquid transfer, into an augmented titration setup that can be operated remotely. Our setup empowers students to learn the conceptual, technical, and practical aspects of titration by leveraging laboratory automation tools. Our system uses Siri as a speech recognition tool and the Python programming language to develop action routines for titration uses. The application of Siri provides a smooth user-toinstrument experience, and the use of Python allows coders to effectively develop and maintain the workflow. Three chemistry professors were invited to participate in usability tests of the system using a mobile device. Their positive feedback highlights the promise of our system as a valuable addition to undergraduate chemistry teaching laboratories. This titration setup addresses accessibility challenges and distance learning requirements for chemical education. Further, our tool introduces students to the type of automated experimentation that is emerging as the modern standard in chemistry research laboratories.

Designing Virtual Laboratory Exercises Using Microsoft Forms

“…The functionality to incorporate branching points in these existing survey platforms can be leveraged to offer a choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) style exercise which gives students a sense of freedom to choose their next step and encourages discovery-based learning. ,, For example, Groos et al (2021) captured authentic in-lab behavior of students as they performed a redox titration that involved six experimental steps and emulated their actions and mistakes into a digital exercise . Student decisions led to productive or unproductive pathways, and if unproductive decisions were made, they were given the opportunity to see the result of their decisions and reflect on their observations.…”

“…Educational technologies have long been known to enhance the learning experience for students. − As technological capabilities continue to improve and become more accessible globally, a wide range of educational tools have been developed for in-person teaching. − The recent global health crisis has placed an emphasis on the necessity for fully virtual learning environments that are engaging through both synchronous and asynchronous delivery. − For example, augmented reality and simulation-based platforms, such as Labster, allow students to virtually participate in interactive, scenario-based laboratories while offering a heightened level of asynchronous engagement. ,− However, these platforms are often expensive and offer limited customization potential, restricting their use and creating barriers for less affluent institutions.…”

“…Instructors have explored different ways of offering virtual laboratory exercises that vary in cost and complexity. , For example, designing virtual exercises using prerecorded videos offers students a chance to visualize how techniques are performed, while also providing a preview of the laboratories at their institution when it is not possible to attend in-person. ,, These types of exercises can offer a more meaningful experience when conducted synchronously with an instructor or teaching assistant (TA) present to facilitate discussions. − However, offering prerecorded videos in an asynchronous format could lead to passive learning in the absence of opportunity for students to participate in live discussions and the inability to actively interact with the videos …”

Collaborative methods to enhance reproducibility and accelerate discovery

“…43 Incorporating automation technologies into pedagogical training is not inherently new, 44,45 but recent efforts have focused on training students in the combination of experimental hardware and planning algorithms 46,47 and on closely adjacent enabling technologies such as computer vision 48,49 and speech recognition. 50 In addition to producing a more technologically skilled workforce, this also provides an opportunity to create a more inclusive scientic workforce, as laboratory automation can remove barriers for students with visual or physical disabilities. 51 In the fully automated lab, scientists design and submit protocols that can be read and executed by machines.…”

Teaching Analytical Instrumentation Through Remote Access – A Gas Chromatography Perspective

“…Various “remote laboratories”, replacing conventional face-to-face classes, for undergraduate level teaching during the pandemic have been reported. These range from titration experiments − and amperometry and fluorescence spectroscopy to multiple week research-based activity . Prior to the pandemic, remote lab experiments were reported somewhat intermittently; examples include nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), gas chromatography (GC)–mass spectrometry (MS), inductively coupled plasma (ICP)–optical emission spectrometry (OES), chemical reaction observations via light and temperature change, and various electrochemical exeriments .…”