Lockdown in 2020 presented may challenges including adapting resources used in laboratory practical classes for on-line delivery. ‘Virtual’ on-line practical classes had to be interactive and engaging in their mode of delivery to capture and maintain the attention 2nd year SLE205 Vertebrate Structure and Function students. On campus practical classes included dissection, observation, measurement and in some instances tactile assessment of a variety of vertebrate specimens. Not all learning experiences could be easily transferred to on-line delivery mode. Our strategy was to enhance the impact of activities that could be translated; concentrating on observational tasks using images, edited clips, YouTube material and interactive activities. Our team produced film clips and used H5P to create activities for a range of different topics e.g. vertebrate skeletons, dentition, bone characteristics and brain structure. Virtual practical classes were scheduled (rather than being self-directed) and delivered using Zoom. Classes began with an overview of the tasks (using PowerPoint). Students then worked sequentially through the tasks under the direction of one demonstrator while another answered any questions typed into the Chat function in Zoom. The Virtual Practical Classes were well received by students as evidenced by many positive comments in the eVALUate survey and unsolicited emails.
