Students and staff log in to eBiolabs here. 

eBiolabs is a set of integrated tools that help students prepare for laboratory classes and help staff track student achievement. It is an on-line system and so accessible from any computer with an internet connection. eBiolabs has been developed out of necessity by the School of Biochemistry and AIMS, with the active support of the JISC and the Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences.

By combining interactive media with formative self-evaluation assessments students learn the methods and techniques they will use in the lab, without risking valuable time, equipment or materials. Because students first experiment on-line there is a reduced chance of cognitive overload during the practical and they are more able to concentrate on the wider aims of the experiment, rather than blindly following the lab instructions.

Here is an example of an interaction that demonstrates why centrifuges must be balanced before use.

Because eBiolabs includes tools that automatically mark student assignments, and tools that allow academics to easily track student attendance and achievement, the marking and administrative burden associated with running practicals is very significantly reduced.

The Department of Biochemistry has seen such fundamental improvements in student performance that courses to support physiology, pharmacology, microbiology and pathology are currently being deployed across the Faculty.

A presentation about eBiolabs.

If you would like to use eBiolabs for your course in your university or college email the project director, Gus Cameron.

eBiolabs has been partially funded by JISC and builds on the work of Bristol's ChemLabS CTEL. The technical design and implementation of the system has been led by Learning Science.