The COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in early 2020, forced educational institutions in Thailand to chiefly rely on online learning during the government mandated lockdown for almost two academic years. Although migration to the online format seems to suit lectures, it is inadequate for laboratory courses since students could not do the experiment…

Lateral flow assays play a key role in mass testing for COVID-19, for example, in schools. The red color of the detection lines is caused by gold nanoparticles that are conjugated to antibodies. Hence, these tests present a very topical learning opportunity in the emerging field of nanoscience. To highlight the role of gold nanoparticles, a…

Hands-on experiences in analytical chemistry laboratories are essential to improve students' technical skills on handling analytical glassware and instruments, but the coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2021 disrupted such learning activities. Thus, alternative remote activities are required to supplement practical skills. In this work, a new portable…

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the separation of the primary colors of ink markers and food coloring was performed using a simplified column chromatography setup at home to accomplish the educational outcome of the course. The virtual class instruction, for the students enrolled in the "Organic Techniques Laboratory"…

As teaching laboratories stand empty in light of COVID-19, we extended the practical experience from the laboratory to the safety of the students' homes. We developed a simple, robust, and versatile at-home experiment that teaches solution preparation, calibration curves, real-life sample preparation, and data analysis to second-year analytical…

An experimental approach to chemistry is a more meaningful way to learn than the use of textbooks alone. Working in the laboratory helps students understand basic concepts through their active engagement. Here, we present a series of inexpensive and environmentally friendly laboratory exercises on acid-base equilibrium. Their difficulty level is…

In this communication, we describe five at-home laboratory experiments and demonstrations that complement a semester-long analytical chemistry curriculum. The experiments were successfully carried out by remote undergraduate students enrolled in a hybrid analytical chemistry course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students used their personal…

An approach to online laboratory exercises for analytical chemistry students with demonstrated practical exercises through the use of remote-controlled gas chromatography (GC) instrumentation is discussed. The approach allows for a practical-based learning activity to be carried out by students who are unable to attend in-person laboratory…

E-learning is not a new concept to the American University of Nigeria (AUN); however, it has always been applied to the lectures but not in the laboratories for the chemistry courses before and during the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdown. The sudden disruption of learning caused by the forced lockdown issued by the government authority in an…

We developed a single crystal X-ray crystallography experiment based on the crystal structure of sucrose (table sugar), and a more challenging experiment using Epsom salt. Both crystals are readily available in X-ray quality crystalline form. In these experiments, students mounted a crystal on a MiTeGen loop and analyzed it using a Rigaku XtaLAB…

Owing to the global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), education has shifted to distance online learning, whereas some face-to-face courses have been resumed with the improvement of the outbreak prevention and management situation, including a laboratory course for senior undergraduate students in chemical biology. Here, we present…

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the acceptance of numerous measures, such as mandatory wearing of face masks or social distancing, is declining. At the same time, the spread of fake news related to these measures is on the rise. The acceptance of and compliance with the measures depends to a large extent on knowledge about these very…

Experiments written for students who were quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic are described. These were developed to provide hands-on lab experiences that students would not get due to the online nature of course offerings during the crisis. The laboratories described include an extraction and oxidation of aldehydes from food items, a study…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many educators have been required to offer their courses online. A particular challenge is the implementation of practical laboratory experiments in the field of materials science. The central questions are the following: How can students carry out laboratory experiments at home? How are applications on mobile devices…

Abrupt disruptions to academia, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020, have brought unprecedented challenges in teaching, yet it has brought many lessons, driving the development of strategies in response to the crisis. The general chemistry laboratory course is often considered difficult to teach, due to students' heterogeneous chemistry…