2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This project created web-based, interactive digital experiments (WIDEs) and compared them to Low-Cost Desktop Learning Modules (LCDLMs). The LCDLMs have often been used during 50-minute class periods in normal classrooms, where one module is provided for every 3-5 students. The WIDEs are also used in class; one half of the students in a class use a WIDE and the other half use the corresponding LCDLM. An important difference from many previous studies is that the WIDEs were prepared so they are identical to LCDLMs.
Web-based interactive digital experiments (WIDEs) are simulations that allow students to carry out experiments and investigate system behavior by testing responses to changes in model input. The WIDEs operate in web browsers so that students can use them directly on laptops and tablets without downloading software or plug-ins. The objective of these WIDEs is to enable students to understand important concepts and skills.
The simulations’ interactive graphics are identical to the physical experiments. Students adjust valves and other equipment, take measurements (e.g., by collecting samples and reading meters), and analyze data. The digital measurements include noise in the data, just as in the physical experiment. WIDEs contain an animated diagram of the equipment, buttons, valves, switches, and/or sliders to that control, pumps, heaters, valves, and temperature and pressure setting. Some WIDEs contain a reset button, temperature readouts, mass flow meters, rotameters, and beakers to collect liquids. Each WIDE contains a downloadable worksheet that includes a short description of the experiment, student learning objectives, a description of the experimental equipment, questions to answer before running the experiment, directions on how to run the experiment and what data to collect, data analysis, and questions to answer after completing the experiment.
WIDEs take less time and allow parameter values to be varied over a much larger range safely than possible with physical experiments. They are also more convenient to use in class, much less expensive, and more easily scaled for use at multiple universities. The WIDEs cover a range of topics and currently 30 WIDEs are available or will be soon. At least eight WIDEs are mimics of LCDLMs (e.g., heat exchangers, evaporative cooling, venturi meter, hydraulic loss) and the remainder include viscous flow, tank emptying, chemical equilibrium, mass and mole balances, unsteady-state material balances, vapor-liquid equilibrium, chemical reactors, membrane separation, calorimeter, vortex tube). The WIDEs are located at https://learncheme.com/virtual-laboratories.
Pre- and post-tests were used to measure the learning gains for students using the LCDLMs and students using the WIDEs in multiple classes. Half the students in a class used LCDLMs and the other half used WIDEs.
This project was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DUE 2336987 and DUE 2336988).