Featured Resource: JoVE

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” – Confucius

Hands-on learning is at the core of Loyola Marymount University’s educational philosophy and is a critical aspect of science education. Yet, how does hands-on lab training translate to the virtual, pandemic environment? Not easily, that’s for sure.

Over the past year, professors teaching traditional lab-based classes faced the problem of providing students experience in conducting experiments and learning core methods without access to LMU’s lab spaces. While many creative solutions emerged, certain methods and demonstrations were difficult to translate virtually. Purchased in the midst of the pandemic, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, or JoVE, is a virtual solution to help fill that physical lab experience void.

Introducing JoVE

JoVE is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal that publishes experimental methods in video format. Offering online video instruction from top science laboratories, JoVE provides an alternative way to learn about lab techniques and research methods. Our subscription includes “Education Unlimited” for all academic disciplines, as well as the “JoVE Biochemistry” and “JoVE Biology” research journals. “Education Unlimited” is ideal for undergraduate education, as it is focused on the practice and theory of scientific experiments across the following fields: basic biology, advanced biology, chemistry, clinical skills, engineering, environmental sciences, physics, and psychology. The research journals “JoVE Biochemistry” and “JoVE Biology” focus on more advanced, cutting-edge experiments in biochemistry and biology, including the research methods and technologies used.

Intended to help with virtual education, JoVE content is useful for a number of scenarios, including:

• Providing background and explanation information for experiments
• Teaching and demonstrating particular methods and concepts
• Training lab staff on lab procedure and safety

Getting Started

To get started using JoVE, log in using your MyLMU credentials. We recommend creating a free account to save your favorite video articles, curate playlists, and create quizzes. From JoVE’s homepage, you can search specific topics or use the top menu to browse the subscribed education and journal content by discipline. Each discipline includes sub-disciplines to browse further. Once you locate an interesting article, you’ll see the video and transcript displayed, with multiple language options.

JoVE offers advanced options to fully utilize the content via tabs to the right of the transcript or bottom of the video, including:

• “Protocol”: describes the principles, procedures, and applications of the demonstrated method/experiment.
• “Embed Video”: allows for easy integration into Brightspace, or you can click the link icon to copy the resource URL.
• “Create Quiz”: offers preset quiz questions for select videos. Quizzes are shared via link or downloadable LTI files.

While nothing can fully replace hands-on lab experiments, hopefully JoVE embodies the spirit of lab work, bringing methods and concepts to virtual life. To learn more about JoVE, visit the Faculty Resource Center help page, or reach out to the Reference & Instruction Librarian for Science & Engineering.

Shelby Hallman wrote today’s post.