BIO/350 (General Biology I)
Below you will see some useful resources to help you prepare for and complete
your class successfully.
Course Materials Required
This science course requires materials that are not available in the
University's e-reader platform. You will complete some homework for this course
using a virtual lab kit. Virtual labs are all integrated into the classes and
are paid for as part of the resource fee of the course. There is nothing
additional you need to purchase. If you have any issues accessing the virtual
lab, please contact your instructor.
Labster
You will complete a weekly virtual lab assignment
within Labster, which you will access via the weekly folders. Note that there
are 2 labs in both Wk 5 and Wk 6, so set aside extra time each week to ensure
you can complete both of them.
Keep the following in mind as you work through the
labs:
- You may leave a lab and return to where
you left. You will be prompted to Continue or Restart; if you select
Restart, your progress will be erased.
- You have unlimited attempts to complete
each lab. The lab is complete when you see a score and a medal icon
showing completion. Your final grade will reflect your highest score.
- All labs are graded automatically, but
the points assigned to a lab in Labster may not match the point totals
assigned in Blackboard. The points within Labster track the accuracy of
tasks in the experiment; the grades in Blackboard will reflect the percentage
of points that you earn in the lab.
- After completing each lab, you will be
prompted to complete a small quiz. If you decide that you aren’t ready for
the quiz, you will have a chance to review essential steps and complete
the lab again before attempting it.
- If you reach a point in a lab where you
are struggling to continue, explore all fields of the screen to look for
any items that are flashing. Flashing items will provide you with helpful
hints.
- The lab contains an AI bot to assist you
with questions throughout the lab—use it for help with navigating Labster.
Your faculty member cannot view the questions you ask the chatbot, so
reach out to them in Blackboard if you have specific questions about the
assignment.
Review the
Labster Student Guide
for additional information.
Labster Troubleshooting and System Requirements
If you encounter any errors in Labster please first
verify that you have met the minimum system requirements. Labster requires the
most recent version of Firefox, Chrome, or Safari, and the latest version of
Windows (64-bit) or Mac OS. Some Chromebooks may be compatible. Review Labster’s minimum system
requirements page for more information on specific system
requirements.