Eli Patterson

Meet Eli

As a full-time, on-campus student at Marshall University, Eli needed to take a microbiology lab course. He had two options: take in person class or online. The problem with the in-person lab was that it interfered with another of his required courses.

“If this had not been offered online, I would have had to wait until next semester. But that may have also interfered with other courses because I’m currently taking many upper level courses. It was convenient to be able to take it online, but I still worried about what the experience would be like.”

Eli had only taken on-campus labs prior to this and wasn’t sure he would get the full experience.

💡Light Bulb Moment💡

“When I first started moving through the labs, I was worried this wouldn’t be like my on-campus lab experiences. But as I kept moving forward, it became clear that this would be nearly the same. As I talked to other students who were taking the lab in person, it turns out I was doing the same things, sometimes more. I practiced the same skills, gained the same knowledge, and now feel confident applying it to the real world.”

“In fact, when I received my hands-on kit, I was surprised how quickly it arrived and by how well-packaged, thorough, and organized everything was. When I started the labs, everything was easy to understand and follow. I liked how the format for every assignment was consistent with test-your-knowledge questions, read-through sections, and a final assessment. The way it was set up made it really easy to understand, and I ended up learning just as much—if not more—than in my in-person labs.”

My Most Memorable Lab: Staining Techniques

“Staining techniques really stood out for me because while it was a tedious process, I liked how I was able to review the videos before, get a good feel for it, then move through the task quickly. The videos were key though. If I was ever confused, I leaned on the videos and was able to figure it out.”

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 pay attention to time management. Make sure you’re planning ahead and schedule what days you’re doing the labs…especially with microbiology, your cultures have to grow for so many days, so it’s important to give yourself ample time if you want to be successful. 

I would tell instructors to do what my teacher did…make sure assignments are organized and easy to follow for students so they don’t run into too many issues. And if they do, make sure it’s clear who they should contact. Having support and resources is important for online student success.

Is It Worth It?

“Once I saw what I was getting, the cost made sense. You’re getting a better deal ordering the hands-on kit than purchasing everything through the bookstore. If I bought this through the bookstore, it would have cost me at least $100 more than that.”