Steve Gillet is an Assistant Chemistry Professor at Haute Ecole de Charlemagne in Belgium. He teaches about 20 students and uses Labster mostly in his "organic chemistry" and "separation technique and identification/electrochemistry" lectures. Labster is used by various instructors at the university in chemistry, biochemistry, hematology, and microbiology. Haute Ecole de Charlemagne has been successfully using Labster since 2018. 

Read more about:

• How Steve Gillet was able to illustrate theoretical content more effectively
• How Labster allowed him access to equipment he would not normally be able to use
• The role of digital technology in learning

Gillet finds that Labster is suited for modern teaching. His students are very enthusiastic and feel that the use of the laboratories is effective for their learning.

"Today's chemistry students have different expectations. Professor Gillet has embraced the need to teach chemistry in a more interactive and gamified way, and it's great to see that his students agree it helps them learn." - Labster Account Manager, Emilie Bertincourt

Labster simulations used:

• HPLC
• Flow Injection Analysis 
• Reaction Kinetics: The essentials
• Mass Spectrometry 
• Cancer Sample Preparation for Mass Spectrometry
• Next generation sequencing
• ELISA
• FACS
• Fluorescence Microscopy
• Gel Electrophoresis: Visualize and separate nucleic acids 
• Western Blot Transfer: Prepare for protein detection
• SDS-PAGE: Separating proteins by molecular weight
  

Why Labster?

• "It allows us to confront students with material that we would be unable to acquire physically due to cost and lack of space."
• "The use of Labster allows us to illustrate theoretical content more effectively than a diagram or a simple video."
• "During the confinement due to COVID, it allowed us to maintain "practical" activities online."
  

Role of digital technology in learning

"The COVID crisis has shown us the need to change our teaching practices. The use of digital technology allows more flexibility. For my part, I am moving more and more towards a HyFlex type of teaching with synchronous face-to-face or distance activities and asynchronous distance activities of the student's choice."

Educator challenges

"One of my biggest challenges is to get my students motivated. They are resistant to traditional lectures, but I notice they become engaged when I assign activities that have an element of fun."