Inside the Virtual Lab: From Learner to Leader

Join us as we delve into the remarkable journey of Jasmine Kaur, a second-year Health Sciences major at UCF, as she shares her transition from a virtual student in UniVirtual's biology labs to a Teaching Assistant (TA) within those same learning environments. Jasmine's unique perspective offers insights into the effectiveness of virtual learning and the transformative impact metaverses can have on both students and instructors. 

UniVirtual: Hi, Jasmine. Thank you for joining me today. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your journey from virtual student to virtual TA. 

UniVirtual’s blogger Carolyn (left) meets Jasmine outside UCF’s virtual reality Biology Department

Jasmine: Hi, my name's Jasmine. I’m currently at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in my second year. I'm majoring in Health Sciences on the pre-med track, so my hope is to go to Med school. I started off as a student in UniVirtual’s Biology labs. It was the first virtual classroom I ever visited. I really enjoyed how it was set up and found it easy to navigate. 

In my second year, I became an in-person Biology Learning Assistant at UCF, and I loved helping other students, so my professor said, “I have the perfect outlet for you to do more of that through UniVirtual.” I thought, this is perfect!  

UV: Thank you, Jasmine! You say you found the course easy to navigate. Do you mean that in the sense of moving your avatar around the virtual world or navigating through the course itself?  

Jasmine: Both. I enjoyed the ecosystem. It felt like a game, but I was also learning, so in my freshman mindset I thought, wow, this is fun! College is going to be fun! UniVirtual is like any other video game you play on computer, so it’s not hard to navigate or use the controls. 

Carolyn and Jasmine on the coastline of the Biology orientation area

UV: That’s great to hear! Before you took our course, had you any prior experience with virtual learning? 

Jasmine: This was my first time experiencing it in college, or even throughout my high school career. It almost plays a trick on your mind: not realizing you’re learning while playing a game. It was my first time experiencing something like that too. 

UV: When you discovered part of your degree would be in virtual reality, what were your initial thoughts?  

Jasmine: Initially, I was hesitant. I like in-person learning because I’m a hands-on learner. I’d done virtual labs in high school, but it was more of a website where you just click buttons and it does things for you, like pouring liquid into a beaker, not like you’re there in the world doing it yourself. That’s why I enjoyed UniVirtual so much. I felt like I was there.  

UV: And when you were there, did you speak to your instructors? 

Jasmine: I did. I asked questions and they were so helpful, as they were able to guide me and not just give me the answer. I really appreciated that guidance to find the answer myself. It helped me learn a lot. 

Jasmine shows Carolyn around one of the virtual labs after class has ended 

UV: It’s very important to us that instructors are present in our environments. Did your experience as a student impact your decision to become an instructor yourself?  

Jasmine: Yes. I really enjoyed the platform, the setup, the variety of labs. I liked how every lab was in a different environment. I do have my favorites, but for the most part, I enjoyed them all, so I wanted to help other students in those spaces and help them understand the concepts. It’s also been beneficial to me, as it helps me freshen up on my knowledge. 

UV: You mentioned some favorite environments. I’d love to hear about those! 

Jasmine: My favorite as a student was the genetics lab. You go around finding aliens, then you need to research which aliens have a disease you're trying to cure. I liked both the topic and the environment. The scavenger hunt aspect gets you thinking differently. 

Jasmine playing with the aliens from our virtual genetics environment

UV: Can you tell us what it was like when you first became a TA? Was there a learning curve to teaching in a virtual classroom? 

Jasmine: I had some training on the background elements, all the files and FAQs and lab answers and how to access them. Instructors can access screenshots of every direction in the lab, so if a student asks a question, I can easily see what part they're at. I skipped the first round of training because I already knew how to move in the environment, fly, chat, and all the controls. As I already had that experience as a student, becoming a virtual TA was a smooth transition. 

UV: When we interviewed Michele Yeargain about her experiences instructing in UniVirtual, she told us that students ask more questions in the virtual classroom than they do in real life. Have you found that too?  

Jasmine: Yes, that’s true. I used to ask lots of questions in Univirtual too because I thought, I'm never going see these people again, so it reduced the anxiety. I was able to ask my questions freely, and it was a one-to-one chat, so nobody else in the class would see it. 

Jasmine shows Carolyn some of the Punnett Square blossoms her students created in the genetics module

UV: Earlier you mentioned enjoying how an instructor could guide you towards an answer in the metaverse. Have you experienced that from both sides now? 

Jasmine: Yes, and I love it! It feels like a full circle moment. I was the one asking questions, but now I’m able to help these students in a position I was in less than a year ago. Just today I was able to help a student find the cure for the aliens. I helped her to figure out Pedigrees too, and it was so fulfilling.  

UV: I’m glad to hear that! Besides instructor presence, what other aspects of our virtual courses do you think are most effective for retaining the taught material? 

Jasmine: Definitely the pre- and post-quizzes. As much as I enjoy doing the activities, I think the quizzes are essential. They are so beneficial because they put what you’ve just learned into a question-and-answer format, and that’s what our tests will be like.  

Jasmine shows Carolyn the giant cell environment where she helps students prepare for their post-quiz

There’s also that unique aspect. I've never done anything like this before, and like I said, I'm a hands-on learner. What really stood out for me were the environments, the realism. I’d done an online lab before, but it was so different. It felt like a checklist, just tediously checking boxes and taking a test. In comparison, UniVirtual was like a fun little like break from my day, but I'm also learning with it. That's what sets it apart while adding some fun. 

UV: It’s interesting that you describe yourself as a hands-on learner. Does UniVirtual feel hands-on to you? 

Jasmine: Yes, because you’re moving through a world. For example, there’s a scavenger hunt in one of the labs with clues to find. I had to walk around a building and talk to every person there to discover clues, which made it feel hands-on. It is different to a real-life lab, of course, but it does still have that hands-on experience that I enjoy.  

Carolyn and Jasmine return to UCF’s front desk in the virtual world

UV: That’s fantastic! Our last question is what advice you might give to students considering taking our courses? 

Jasmine: I definitely recommend it! As a student, I loved being able to study from home. UniVirtual also has a twist, in that it's not like any other virtual lab. At first you might think this is going to be another online checklist, but it’s more like playing The Sims, only you’re learning biology too!  

You also get a different environment every week, even when you’re studying the same topics. It’s a great way to learn. 

UV: I’m an avid player of The Sims too, and now that you say it, if The Sims were educational, I’d be a genius! 

Jasmine: [Laughs] Me too! 

Thank you so much to Jasmine for sharing her journey. She has highlighted not only how immersive virtual courses can be, but also the importance of instructor presence in the metaverse. Our “hands-on” approach has worked great for Jasmine and sets UniVirtual’s user experience apart from other online learning solutions she’s tried, which is exactly what we hope for when designing our courses. We believe virtual learning should feel more like an adventure than a chore, that it should be dialogic, fun, and it should inspire.  

If you’re interested in a tour of our biology labs, or any of the other STEM fields we offer courses in, please reach out. We’d love to hear from you. You can also read our case study about how the virtual course Jasmine now assists with as first created.