360 Degrees Virtual Laboratory Tour With Embedded Skills Videos

This paper describes the design and effectiveness of a 360 degrees (identified as 360) virtual laboratory tour which was implemented in a second-year undergraduate chemistry subject to familiarize the students with the research laboratory environment, equipment, and skills needed to undertake the subject and first laboratory session. We include step by step guides on how to produce a virtual laboratory tour using freeware and on how to produce and incorporate interactive videos into the tour. The virtual laboratory tour that we developed was given to the students prior to their first laboratory class and was well-received by students with 100% of students surveyed reporting that it was an effective learning aid. Virtual laboratory tours offer a promising option for creating a personalized online laboratory experience.