Teaching biology laboratories remotely presents unique problems and challenges for instructors. Microscopic examination of specimens, as is common in parasitology labs, is especially difficult given the limited quantity of teaching specimens and the need for each student to have access to a microscope at their remote location. Observing images of parasites on the internet coupled with written exercises, while useful, is unrepresentative of real-world laboratory or field conditions. To provide a more realistic microscopy-centered synchronous experience for our parasitology class during the coronavirus pandemic, we used a smartphone mounted on a student microscope to livestream examination of parasite specimens to remote students via the Webex meeting app. This allowed two instructors, working from separate locations, to present and narrate the view of the specimens through the microscope in real time to the remotely located class. While less than ideal, livestreaming microscopic views of parasite specimens together with simultaneous instructor narration provided a reasonable remote substitute for a hands-on parasitology lab experience.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
May 01 2022
Teaching Parasitology Lab Remotely Using Livestreaming
John M. Hawdon,
John M. Hawdon
JOHN M. HAWDON is an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine at The George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Search for other works by this author on:
James P. Bernot
James P. Bernot
JAMES P. BERNOT is an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the US National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Search for other works by this author on:
The American Biology Teacher (2022) 84 (5): 312–314.
Citation
John M. Hawdon, James P. Bernot; Teaching Parasitology Lab Remotely Using Livestreaming. The American Biology Teacher 1 May 2022; 84 (5): 312–314. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2022.84.5.312
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.