Use Labster simulations in myCourses

Owned by Joana Kort Mascort
Mar 18, 2024
3 min read

Labster provides a catalogue of laboratory simulations, including sections on Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Medicine and Physics, that can be integrated into your Content tool on myCourses. Labster allows students to participate in online laboratory simulations at their own pace, which helps prepare them for in-person lab sessions, increases their conceptual understanding of course material, and facilitates engagement through gamification. 

You do not have to request a license for Labster, however, your students must purchase a Labster license at the McGill Bookstore to access the simulations.

In this article:

1 Add Labster simulations to the Content tool | 2 Set-up the Labster Dashboard | 3 Connect Labster to the Grades tool

Add Labster simulations to the Content tool

  1. Navigate to the Labster Faculty Resources page and then select Upload to LMS on their Navigation Bar.

  2. Click Add Simulation to Your LMS and select the simulations that you want to import to your Content tool.

  3. Click Download. On the following page, select Brightspace/D2L under Download a Common Cartridge File. This will provide a .zip file that you can upload to myCourses. 

  4. Click Download Common Cartridge File and wait for the download to complete.

  5. Navigate to your myCourses Course Admin page and select Import/Export/Copy Components. 

  6. Choose to Import Components and from a course package.

  7. Upload the .zip file from Labster and select Import All Components.

  8. After the import is complete, the Labster simulations will be added to a Content module entitled Simulations. 

See Manage Content in myCourses for information about how to move, edit, and/or delete Labster material in your Content tool. 

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Set-up the Labster Dashboard

When you access your Labster Dashboard for the first time, you will be asked to select the simulations that you want to view in the Dashboard. Select the simulations that you have added to your Content tool, and that you would like your students to complete.



You will then be asked to define a completion threshold, that is, how much of a simulation each student must play through. Choose one of the following:

  • 100% of the simulation should be completed.

  • At least 75% of the simulation should be completed.

  • At least 50% of the simulation should be completed.

  • At least 25% of the simulation should be completed.

  • Completion percentage does not influence my grading.

Labster grades also include several quiz questions that are integrated into each simulation. Students earn points by answering these questions correctly, and Labster sums these points into a “Labster score” between 0 and 100. Choose the minimum amount of points that a student must achieve in a simulation in order to pass.



Students can attempt Labster simulations multiple times. Select which attempt you would like to be graded:

  • First attempt: a student's first attempt.

  • Base attempt: a student's attempt with the highest score.

Click Save Settings and then Done to continue to your Labster Dashboard. If you wish to change these settings in the future, they can be accessed by clicking Settings in the top-right corner of your Labster window.

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Connect Labster to the Grades tool

This process must be completed in the current Content Experience. See the New vs. Current Content Experience article for information about the Content Experiences and how to switch between them.

You can connect a Labster simulation to the Grades tool, so that individual student grades are transferred automatically when they reach 100% completion.

Select a Labster simulation from your Content tool. Under Activity Details, choose an existing grade item from the Assessment drop-down menu or create a new one ( + ). Click Save. 

If you do not want to transfer grades automatically, ensure that No Grade is selected in the Assessment drop-down menu. 

 

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