OPERATING AN OPTICAL MICROSCOPE

The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is the central instrument in a cell biology lab. It is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible light and a system of lenses, to generate magnified images of small objects such as cells.The maximum magnification of optical microscopes is usually ×1500, and their maximum resolution is 200nm, due to the wavelength of light.

Learning outcomes

After completing this training, the user will be able to:

Operate successfully an optical microscope, the most basic instrument in a biology lab.
Identify the different parts of the photonic microscope and acknowledge their specific function.

How to navigate through the desktop app

Download Onlabs to your computer to practice!

Select an Option

Desktop-Based Virtual Reality

Panoramic/Highly Immersive Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality

The Desktop-Based Virtual Reality is a computer-generated three-dimensional virtual space experienced through standard audio-visual equipment, such as a desktop computer with a two-dimensional monitor. This version of Onlabs can be installed on any PC with Windows 10 and the user can simply use the mouse to interact with the virtual lab equipment that appears on the screen of the PC.
Alternatively, Onlabs can be installed in any smartphone or tablet with an android operating system.

Onlabs comes with three Modes: The Instruction Mode, the Evaluation Mode and the Experimentation Mode.The combination of these three modes offers the user an autonomous learning experience.

Select a Mode

2a. INSTRUCTION MODE

In the Instruction Mode the user performs the experiment under written and vocal instructions. To lower the intrinsic load, the experiment is divided into numerous steps. In case the learner cannot complete a specific step, he/she may click on the globe-button on the left up corner of the screen and a written hint appears to his/her help. Nevertheless, If the user fails to perform the step correctly, a wrong message appears on the screen. Only when the user completes the step successfully, the narrator congratulates him/her and he/she can proceed to the next step. This procedure is repeated step-by-step, until the user completes the whole protocol of the experiment.

Demo video Instruction Mode: OPTICAL MICROSCOPE INSTRUCTION MODE

Desktop-Based VR_Microscope

2b. EVALUATION MODE

Through the Evaluation Mode the user self-assesses his/her familiarization with the lab equipment and his/her ability to conduct successfully a specific experiment. The evaluation is based on a scoring mechanism where a percentage of progress and a percentage of penalty points quantify the user’s performance.

Demo video Evaluation Mode: OPTICAL MICROSCOPE INSTRUCTION MODE

Desktop-based VR-Biology lab

2c. EXPERIMENTATION MODE

Demo video Experimentation Mode: OPTICAL MICROSCOPE INSTRUCTION MODE

Real Lab-Microscopy

Τhe Onlabs virtual environment has been recently enriched with extended reality technologies such a head-mounted device and joysticks. Onlabs, through these input devices, creates a computer-generated 360° virtual space that can be perceived as being spatially realistic. This spatial awareness tricks the users’ senses into a sensation of physical presence elevating this way the learning experience offered by the original system.

Panoramic_Highly Immersive VR_Microscopy(1)

In low and high immersive virtual reality the user experiences a computer-generated virtual environment whereas, in augmented reality the environment is real and it is enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information.

Exploiting Extended Reality Technologies for Educational Microscopy

AR-Microscopy