Maximizing Student Engagement in Science Education

For the past two years, I’ve been using LabXchange in my course design work, and it has become a go-to resource for helping faculty create engaging, interactive online science learning experiences. LabXchange is a comprehensive open educational resource (OER) platform filled with a diverse range of materials including videos, articles, simulations, virtual labs, and interactive experiments. It offers much more than what a traditional textbook can, providing students with opportunities to immerse themselves in science content in dynamic and hands-on ways.

What I find most valuable about LabXchange is how it supports faculty in thinking creatively about how to engage students with complex scientific concepts. As someone who collaborates with faculty, my role is to help them design learning experiences that meet course outcomes and learning objectives. LabXchange makes this easier by offering a wide variety of resources that allow students to explore science concepts interactively, whether through a simulation, a video, or a virtual lab that mirrors real-world scientific experimentation. This active engagement deepens students' understanding and sparks curiosity, making the learning process much more engaging than reading static textbook content.

While I would love to create my own simulations and virtual experiments, I currently don’t have the advanced skillset required to do so at this time. So, I’m incredibly thankful to have a resource like LabXchange, which is well built-out and high-quality, meeting the needs of both educators and students. It allows me to focus on helping faculty design immersive learning experiences without having to reinvent the wheel. In the future, I would love to learn how to create my own simulations and virtual experiments, as well as develop 3D images like you can find on Sketchfab.

LabXchange’s accessibility is another major reason why I love using it. Designed with inclusivity in mind, the platform ensures that all students, regardless of their learning needs, can engage with the content. This is critical in science education, where diverse learning styles and abilities often require varied resources to support understanding. LabXchange provides these resources in a way that helps create an inclusive, accessible learning environment for every student.

As an educator, it’s important to always check the accessibility of the resources you’re integrating into your courses. Never just trust what someone says. Test it out yourself. This ensures that the materials are truly accessible to all students, providing a more equitable learning experience for everyone. To learn more about LabXchange’s efforts in improving accessibility, check out their blog here.

Through my work, I’ve seen how LabXchange helps bridge the gap between theory and practice in science education. Science is all about hands-on learning and experimentation, and LabXchange offers virtual experiments and simulations that allow students to apply scientific concepts in an interactive way. This active exploration is incredibly powerful. It allows students to engage with the material in a meaningful way, helping to solidify their understanding and connect theoretical knowledge to real-world applications.

LabXchange has become an invaluable resource for designing online science courses that are immersive, engaging, and accessible. It offers faculty a diverse set of tools to create interactive, hands-on learning experiences that go far beyond what textbooks can provide. I’m excited to continue using it to help faculty inspire students to explore, experiment, and deepen their understanding of science in ways that are both interactive and effective.

A Time-Saving Guide to Creating Learning Resources

Okay, real talk, how many times have you made a study guide, stared at it, and thought, this needs to be more fun?

I’m using my daughter’s study guide as an example today. She’s super independent and usually handles things on her own, but every now and then, she asks me for help. And honestly, I love it. Helping her out is one of those little joys that make my day.

Creating learning games and tools can take forever. But over the past year, I’ve cracked a process that’s saved me HOURS. And the best part? The process I’m about to show you works for learning materials from early elementary all the way to higher education. If you’re looking to turn study guides into something way more interactive, without the headache, keep reading. I’m about to show you how I do it in no time.

The Game-Changing Process

Step 1: Digitize Your Study Guide

I start with a study guide, often handwritten, not typed. To turn this into a digital format, I take a picture of it and upload it to my favorite website: ASU Online AI Labs Image Accessibility Creator. This tool is a lifesaver for both saving time and ensuring accessibility. It converts the image into text and provides robust, accurate alt text for any graphics.

Once the text is extracted, I paste it into a Word document, creating a digital version of my notes. Just like that, the hard part is done!

Step 2: Generate Questions

With my digital study guide ready, I turn to my trusty think partner: ChatGPT. I ask it something like this:

“Can you take this study guide of notes (attached) and create multiple-choice questions with four answer options for each question, marking the correct answer with an asterisk? For example:

*a. evolution

Provide enough multiple-choice questions to cover all the content on the study guide notes.”

ChatGPT generates a set of questions, but here’s an important note: Prompt engineering is a crucial step in getting the results you want. Improving your prompts takes time and practice, so don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work perfectly on the first try. I suggest once you create a prompt that delivers exactly what you need, save it! Having a list of template prompts is a huge time-saver for me, and it ensures I can streamline repetitive tasks like this.

Also, here’s a pro tip: Always review the content yourself. As much as I love ChatGPT, it’s vital to verify the information to ensure accuracy. You are the brain behind the process, so don’t skip this step.

Step 3: Transform Questions into Interactive Formats

Once I’ve reviewed the questions, I upload them to GetMarked’s Google Form Quiz Import Tool. This tool lets me convert my questions into a Google Form, which I then transform into a Google Quiz. There are a few more steps to get the quiz from GetMarked to Google Form, but the instructions on the GetMarked website are super easy to follow, making the whole process smooth from start to finish.

With the quiz ready, I can easily import it into Quizizz to create an engaging, interactive learning game.

If I’m not working with Google Quizzes, I’ll add the study guide or questions directly to Quizlet. From Quizlet, I can export the content to platforms like Kahoot, Blooket, Quizalize, or back to Quizizz for even more options.

The Result: Hours Saved

What used to take me hours and hours to do now takes about 10 minutes, depending on the content. I’ve taught myself this process over the past year, and it’s been an absolute game changer. Not only do I save time, but I’m also creating accessible and effective learning materials that students love.

Give It a Try!

If this process connects with you or if you’d like a walkthrough, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to share specific steps or guide you through it. Saving time and creating great learning experiences is something we all deserve!