CardioStart Online: A Virtual High School Tissue Engineering Course.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering Education
• Virtual Learning Environments

Background:

• Traditional in-person high school programs face limitations in accessibility and scalability.
• Adapting educational content for online delivery is crucial for broader reach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual tissue engineering course compared to its in-person counterpart.
• To demonstrate that online programs can be engaging, accessible, and flexible.

Main Methods:

• An in-person high school tissue engineering program was converted into a virtual course using Google Classroom.
• Pre- and post-program surveys were administered to students in both virtual and in-person offerings of the CardioStart program.

Main Results:

• Student understanding of tissue engineering topics improved significantly in both program formats.
• Learning outcomes were comparable between the virtual and in-person CardioStart program offerings.
• The virtual program engaged five times more students than the in-person program.

Conclusions:

• Online platforms can effectively deliver engaging and accessible tissue engineering education.
• Virtual programs offer enhanced scalability compared to traditional workshops.
• Future iterations should incorporate hands-on components to complement virtual learning.