The overall goal of this study was to evaluate student experiences in online laboratory courses in order to inform the design andimprovement of lab activities in a distance education program. Students were surveyed about their satisfaction and perceptions ofusability and learning in both hands-on (at home) and computer-based simulation (virtual) labs in a variety of natural sciencecourses. We also attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of several online chemistry courses taught with either hands-on kits orvirtual laboratory activities, and examined the performance of students concurrently enrolled in lecture and laboratory chemistrycourses versus those enrolled in a lecture only courses. The majority of survey respondents felt their online laboratory experiencewas the same as or better than their prior experiences in the traditional setting. Survey data also show that students believe theirlaboratory experiences reinforced and improved their understanding of concepts presented in lectures and the textbook, and thusmay have helped them perform better on course assessments. Our data on performance suggest that students enrolled in onlinescience courses do as well or better than their peers enrolled in traditional courses. The data also suggest that students who takelecture and laboratory concurrently outperform their lecture-only peers, independent of course (i.e., general or organic chemistry)or delivery method (i.e., online or traditional)

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• Efficacy of Online Laboratory Science Courses