Instructional Assistant Professor Texas A&M University Bryan, Texas
As courses moved online during the pandemic, many of us who teach entomology labs were forced to devise a way to teach the requisite curriculum without requiring in-person sessions or the purchase of expensive home-use equipment. Texas A&M University's veterinary entomology course faced this exact challenge, compounded by the over 200 students enrolled each semester. Many of the students enrolled take only this one entomology course, making this their only opportunity to learn about how insects affect animals. With these considerations in mind, we developed an online, flowchart-based system using Articulate 360 that enables asynchronous, self-paced learning about 126 veterinarily-important arthropods. Students demonstrated a firm grasp of the dichotomous key and the ability to site ID a large number of the important species associated with animals during in-person testing. This method may be advantageous for introducing online students to laboratory techniques while also providing a lab-like experience from any location worldwide.
