BioSoftLab's Training Tool targets a wide spectrum of users, from novice
bioseparation students to bioseparation research scientists. The Training
Tool can be used to
- learn about the lab setup and instrument control,
- understand the actual bioseparation process,
- find out how BioSoftLab can be used to setup and "run" a
physical bioseparation experiment, and
- learn how to use BioSoftLab to run the computational model.
Teaching Tool selection menu
If the Teaching Tool is selected, users are presented with the following
options:
For the bioseparation novice:
- What is bioseparation? Various multimedia annotations are used to
give the user an understanding of what a bioseparation experiment involves and
what it may be used for.
- The bioseparation laboratory. A description of the instruments used
to perform a bioseparation experiment is presented.
For the bioseparation scientist:
- Using BioSoftLab to perform a physical experiment
- Using BioSoftLab to perform a virtual experiment
- Using BioSoftLab to perform a hybrid experiment
When the bioseparation scientist selects one of the three choices listed
above, he or she is guided through a tour of setting up and running an
experiment using BioSoftLab. Using a wide range of multi-media annotations,
the user is taught the step-by-step routine required to set up an experiment
using BioSoftLab.
If the user is already familiar with the actual bioseparation experiment, he
or she can use BioSoftLab's Teaching Tool to learn or practice setting up a
physical or virtual experiment and better understand the interaction between
the physical and computational models.
Clearly BioSoftlab can be used in an engineering classroom as an instructional
aid for teaching
- the physical layout of the laboratory,
- the equipment characteristics, operation and functionality,
- safety in the laboratory,
- experimental methodology, including how to monitor the devices and collect
results,
- use of the computational model to simulate an experiment, and
- the interaction between the experimental process and its simulation.
All of the above can be done from within the classroom, without entering the
laboratory where the experiment actually takes place.
The advantages of having this capability in the classroom are obvious. It
increases expertise in laboratory instrument operation on a large scale and
without use of the costly lab. It allows access to laboratories that may not
be locally available. It allows beginners to perform "dangerous"
experiments. It uses a combination of recorded actual and simulation data to
understand how these two models interact. It uses simulation to visualize
and explain phenomena not measurable by real-time experimentation. These and
many other benefits can result from a successful implementation of
BioSoftlab.