Microbiology for Health Sciences (SI-10601-MB-01 for V-Scope/SI-10602-MB-01 for Slides)

• Getting Started
• Lab Safety
• Lab Kit Inventory
• Microbiology Laboratory Prep
• Identification of an Unknown Microbiology
• Hand Washing and Normal Flora
• Microscopy for Microbiology
• Aseptic Technique and Culturing Microbes
• Bacterial Morphology and Staining Techniques
• Serial Dilution and Viable Plate Counts
• Motility Testing
• Kirby-Bauer Diffusion Testing
• Carbohydrate Fermentation Testing
• Starch Hydrolysis Testing
• Selective and Differential Media Testing

Microbiology Standard Kit (SI-10603-MB-01 for V-Scope/SI-10604-MB-01 for Slides)

• Getting Started
• Lab Safety
• Lab Kit Inventory
• Microbiology Laboratory Prep
• Ubiquity of Microorganisms
• Hand Washing and Normal Flora
• Microscopy for Microbiology
• Aseptic Technique and Culturing Microbes
• Bacterial Morphology and Staining Techniques  
• Kirby-Bauer Diffusion Testing
• Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Testing
• Catalase and Oxidase Testing
• Salt Tolerance and pH Testing
• Fomite Transmission
• Food Safety

• In Quality Matters Review
  • We will update this section once we have achieved QM certification.
• Interactive Introductory Content
  • Every lab incorporates at least one interactive (animation, summary image, interactive activity, etc.) in the Exploration to increase student engagement with the curriculum.
  • These are designed to blend seamlessly into the curriculum and are always called out ahead of time in the paragraph prior with directions as to how to interact with the item.
• Microscope
  • Microscopy is a fundamental skill in Microbiology labs, and thus is included in three lessons. Clients have the option to select from using the V-Scope or a physical microscope. Standard kits are available using both the v-scope and physical slides.
• New Digital Experiments!
  • One brand new, fully digital lesson, called "Identification of Unknowns" is now available. This lessons is a fantastic capping lesson that is done on-campus, where students apply all of the microbiological tests they've learned to identify an unknown microorganism.
  • Fomite Transmission also includes a new digital activity, where students track the spread of a pathogen at a party to better understand how to prevent fomite transmission.
• New Hands-On Labs and Bacteria!
  • The new SI Microbiology includes a fourth microbe, B. subtilis.
  • The inclusion of this microbe also allows us to offer for the first time a lab on starch degrading bacteria, called "Starch Hydrolysis Testing."
• Set Up Videos
  • Set-up videos are incorporated into experiments to guide students through complicated techniques or orient students to utilizing various assets.
• Safety
  • An updated safety overview is required in all courses, and includes a safety video, safety contract, and all relevant information for students ahead of beginning their experiments.

• Aseptic Technique and Culturing Microbes
  • This lab is the foundation of all microbiology courses, and as a result, is an essential for demos. This lab covers
  • The first experiment covers culturing microbes in broth. The second experiment covers techniques for isolating colonies.
  • Supplies include broths, agars, petri dishes, and all of our microbe specimens (four total).
  • Very similar to on-campus courses - this would traditionally be the first or second lab of a course after students have covered microbiology lab safety.
• Kirby-Bauer Diffusion Testing
  • Another classic micro experiment, most courses will include a section on antibiotic resistance. It's a key technique with real world implications - the growing resistance of microbes to traditional antibiotics.
  • One experiment, in which students use antibiotic discs to assess the inhibition of bacterial growth.
  • Supplies include agar, antibiotic discs, and other microbiological tools.

• Cloud is WCAG 2.1 compliant.
• All videos are closed captioned.
• All images use Alt Tags.
• Interactives, including digital experiments, are all designed to be screen reader compatible.

• Carolina
  • Lessons
    • 21 total lessons listed on website (6 digital labs or dry labs)
    • Most of the digital labs are duplicate topics to hands-on labs. One covers a topic that cannot be done hands-on.
  • Standard Kits
    • Microbiology (w/o Microscope, 5 labs, $152)
    • Microbiology (w/ Microscope, 8 labs, $260)
  • Competitive Information
    • Bacterial Specimens - Carolina offers 4 bacterial specimens. We now offer four as well. Three of their specimens overlap with ours (E. coli, S. epidermidis, B. subtilis) and two are unique.
    • Agar - Carolina offers pre-poured agar plates in their kit, versus our kits in which students receive solid agar and must pour their own plates. Pre-poured plates are highly likely to be damaged and contaminated en route to students, and in our experience are much more difficult for students to get quality bacterial growth on. Additionally, by using pre-poured plates, students missing out on fundamental learning on aseptic media/agar preparation and how to pour their own plates.  
    • Content Delivery - Carolina provides a printed or PDF lab manual that has procedures and a few questions. They do not have digital content or student portal platform/cartridges.
      • They do offer their content through Odigia, but this is a simple drop-in of their PDF manuals.
    • Content - Carolina offers limited introductory content and experimental support. The introductory content is majority text, very few images, and no interactives. Their experiments do not include set-up images and have very few support videos, leaving students to guess at how to set up their experiments correctly. Small number of assessments with no ability to customize or autograde.
    • Microscopy - Carolina offers a simplistic virtual microscope that is far less comprehensive than the V-Scope. They also offer a microscope for students to purchase; however it is a children's microscope (the box says for ages 3+), which is not equivalent to a microscope that should be used at the university level.

• Labster
  • Lessons
    • 17 lessons on their website are listed under Microbiology. Most are relevant topics although some fall more closely under a general biology or A&P topic
    • Includes a mix of tutorials, experiments, and concept overviews, so not all of the items listed above would be considered experiments/labs
  • Standard Kits
    • Labster offers various packages that vary in length of access time and number of interactives that can be accessed. Pricing is not readily accessible on their website but is generally cited online as less than $100.
  • Content Coverage
    • Content Coverage - Labsters Microbiology content in general is lacking. It is largely focused on basic staining techniques. There are no higher level concepts covered, including biochemical analyses, selective/differential media, etc. This content would not support a full semester Microbiology course.
    • Microscopy - Labster has minimal microscopy, outside of two labs on the basics/how to use a microscope. V-Scope and our microscopy experiments incorporated throughout biology are far more comparable to an on-campus setting.
    • Lesson Duration - The estimated time required by Labster for their lessons ranges from 15 - 40 minutes. To meet the requirements for most colleges (2.5-3 hours per week in lab), students would need to perform multiple modules. In places where there is only a single interactive covering a topic, this could cause major problems for the instructor.
    • Pedagogy - Labster's content is highly gamified with overarching storylines that can distract from the lesson at hand. We take a more straightforward approach, presenting background content with critical information students need to complete the experiment, followed by the experiment, which takes an approach more comparable to on campus.

• McGraw Hill
  • Lessons
    • 124 lessons are listed as A&P on their website. However, this also encompasses their greater Biology suite of lessons.
      • Of these, 16 of the lessons are relevant to a Microbiology course.
  • Standard Kits
    • No standards per se. Labs can be bundled with textbook in packages.
  • Competitive Information
    • Content Coverage - The McGraw Hill microbiology content is probably the best virtual option on the market for micro with 16 labs. Key topics they include are antiseptics and disinfectants, the Kirby Bauer Method, isolation and aseptic techniques, and some biochemical testing. The lessons they offer line up in general with what we are offering hands-on.
    • Microscopy -  McGraw Hill does offer microscopy-based lessons. There are general labs on how to use microscopes as well. However, they are very basic microscopy techniques, and not focused on observing different stain types.
    • Content - The McGraw Hill lessons have limited introductory content. They include a list of key concepts and an overview, which are meant to provide introductory information. A "before you start" section with key techniques may also be included. There are no obvious learning objectives within the lesson. The overview is brief, and is likely developed under the assumption the student is pairing this with textbook reading.
      • For the demo lesson reviewed, the introductory content was eight sentences long.
    • Assessments - The McGraw Hill lessons include minimal assessments automatically, typically pertaining to creating a hypothesis, an experimental strategy, and a conclusion. Students can have multiple attempts to answer these correctly. If instructors want additional questions, they must be developed by the instructor (although McGraw Hill does provide a question bank to pull from).
    • Experiments - Experiments are set up in a point and click format with minimal opportunity to make mistakes. It appears that they are set up such that all students get the same answer. In contrast, our most recent digital developments have multiple possible answers to prevent students from cheating.

Is this kit Quality Matters certified?

• Micro is under review with QM as of April, 2023. We will update when certification is achieved.

What specimens are included in the micro kits?

• Three bacteria: E. coli, S. epidermidis, and B. subtilis. Our kits also include one eukaryotic microorganism, yeast (S. cerevisieae).

Do you have a microscope option?

• We offer the option of physical slides and microscopes as well as a virtual microscope. Most of the physical slides come prepared for students; however, students have the opportunity to view slides they prepared in Prokaryotes and Introduction to Microscopy.

Can the Aseptic Technique lab from Pharmacy Technician be used in place of the Microbiology Aseptic Technique lab?

• No, these are two separate topics. Pharmacy Technician is focused on aseptic gowning for drug preparation. Aseptic Technique in Microbiology is focused on growing bacteria without contamination.

Are the microbes safe for students to use at home?

• Yes, only non-virulent strains of these bacteria are used in our kits.