TVETipedia Glossary

(Virtual labs) Multimedia applications, which allow video and digital simulations of laboratory activities in a real manner but without the risks and costs associated with laboratory experiments. Simulations of science laboratory experiments can use real data. Computer simulations are particularly helpful for learning science when:

• experiments are too risky, expensive or time-consuming to be conducted in a school laboratory, such as those involving volatile gases;
• experiments require precision so that learners can see patterns and trends or where learners may not be able to achieve the necessary precision without simulation tools;
• experiments break the laws of nature, such as exploring kinematics collisions that violate conservation of momentum law; and
• ethical issues are at stake, such as in the case of some biology experiments.