MicroID Lab Guide: an open-source, customizable web application to guide students through unknown bacterial...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Educational Technology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Undergraduate microbiology students often face challenges in bacterial identification due to complex workflows and data interpretation.
• Traditional methods require manual organization of observations and selection of biochemical tests, leading to potential errors.
• A need exists for structured, accessible tools to support student learning in bacterial identification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and describe the MicroID Lab Guide, a progressive web application designed to assist undergraduate students in identifying bacterial isolates.
• To provide a flexible, customizable, and zero-cost digital tool for microbiology laboratory education.
• To enhance the learning experience by automating aspects of the identification workflow and providing on-demand support.

Main Methods:

• Development of a free, open-source progressive web application (MicroID Lab Guide) using a rule-based decision engine.
• Implementation of a four-phase workflow: initial observations, flowchart routing, biochemical test selection/interpretation, and organism identification.
• Inclusion of a searchable reference library for 67 laboratory techniques and biochemical tests.
• Design for instructor customization of organism profiles, test definitions, and flowchart logic using editable source files.

Main Results:

• The MicroID Lab Guide successfully guides students through bacterial identification, automating routing and flagging inconsistencies.
• The application provides on-demand support through a searchable reference library.
• It functions as a static web application, requiring no server or user accounts, ensuring data privacy and accessibility.
• The tool is designed for extensive instructor customization, allowing adaptation to specific course needs.

Conclusions:

• MicroID Lab Guide offers a flexible, zero-cost solution to support undergraduate microbiology education in bacterial identification.
• The application's design facilitates instructor customization and integration into diverse laboratory curricula.
• It represents a scalable model for developing course-specific digital tools in science education.