Harvard collaboration to help students explore how science works
Harvard and the Amgen Foundation have announced a new collaboration to create a free, online, science learning platform for high school and college students. The effort, called LabXchange, will be developed by a group led by Robert Lue, professor of the practice of molecular and cellular biology, and will create not just a series of virtual laboratory experiences for students, but also tools for instructors to create and remix existing instructional content to provide the related scientific background. It will also create a social media-style community around LabXchange, providing a sharing environment where students can look to their peers, as well as instructors, for advice and support. LabXchange, funded by a $6.5 million grant from the Amgen Foundation, is expected to launch in about 10 to 12 months. Lue, who serves as faculty director of HarvardX, Harvard’s arm of the edX online learning platform, spoke with the Gazette about what the plans and...