Mylah Rosbozom

Meet Mylah

With a liberal arts degree nearly under her belt, Mylah was three science credits short of her degree. As she entered her last semester, she decided to take an online physical science course, which included a chemistry and physics unit, to fulfill the requirement.

“As a non-science major and part-time working student, I was looking for a general overview course — especially because I’ve struggled with lab courses in the past. I wanted to be able to work independently, fit it into my schedule, and be able to go at my own pace.”

💡Light Bulb Moment💡

I was initially a bit surprised that the online course was going to still be hands-on. I was expecting to only do virtual simulations, and while we did do some of those, it was cool to still be able to set up experiments in my house. Sometimes, I ran into challenges, but it just took some figuring out. It was just a new experience to do the work independently, without an instructor, but in the end I would say that it was some of the hands-on labs that really helped me learn the material better.”

Even though Mylah had never taken an online lab course with hands-on experiments prior to this experience, she found the instructions and accompanying visuals for each lab helpful.

“For the most part, instructions were thorough, and each step of the lab had time allotments to give me an idea of how long it should take, which helped set my expectations. Also, the images and videos were incredibly helpful, especially because reading large blocks of text for me is not my best way of learning.”

In addition, the Exploration sections at the beginning of each lab helped Mylah review the fundamental information and concepts before doing the experiments. The Test Your Knowledge questions helped set context for the lab, and provided her with resources to refer back to during the labs.

My Most Memorable Lab: Anions, Cations, and Ionic Reactions

“In our chemistry unit, we were looking at how different metals interacted. There was a lab where we were observing the physical and chemical changes of copper when fire is applied. I was doing this lab at the same time my younger sister came home. She thought it was cool and called me a scientist!”

Drawing Conclusions

Like any good experiment, you work your way through the scientific method to analyze the results, reflect on your findings, and draw your conclusions so you can move forward with new knowledge and ideas.

So now that you’re at the end of your online lab course, tell us: what did you learn and what advice might you give after your experience?

I would tell students to practice good time management. Make sure you’re planning ahead and starting labs early in the week just in case they take longer than expected. Read through the lab before starting because sometimes you have to wait 72 hours to be able to observe the effects, especially important for outdoor experiments. Plan well!

I would tell instructors that support and guidance is important for online students. Be available for questions and try to provide timely responses, along with recorded videos and helpful tutorials. My school had an in-person science study center where we could go and get help from professors, which was really helpful.

Is It Worth It?

“At first, I wasn’t totally expecting the cost of the kit. However, being clear about that cost and how the hands-on experiments can really benefit us could be really enticing and a huge advantage for students who want the hands-on experience but can’t take an on-campus course at the time.”