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Sophia Learning with Labster to Deliver STEM Courses with Virtual Lab Simulations

An online-learning and on-demand platform, Sophia Learning provides general education-level courses to higher education level students and recently announced a partnership with one of the world's leading edtech platforms Labster, for virtual lab and interactive science. The partnership delivers college-level science courses incorporating Labster's simulation content designed to meet the higher education needs of Sophia Learning's students and working adults. Sophia Learning is an associate of Strategic Education, Inc., a nonprofit with a mission to reduce the cost of higher education while increasing student success and job readiness.

The American Council on Education (ACE®) recommends the Chemistry lab course made with Labster for college credit. This signifies that many colleges and universities may accept course credit from it towards a degree. In addition, ACE® is looking at other courses to see if they should be recommended for credit. These courses are a good way to get college-level credits in STEM fields at a low cost.

Sophia's Chemistry Lab course was first launched in December with Labster simulations. Sophia Learning will use Labster's simulations to build four more online lab courses in 2023. To help students finish the lab simulations, the courses will have extra Labster content like lab reports, manuals, formative assessments, and introductory videos. Sophia Learning courses with Labster-integrated labs include Introduction to Chemistry, Microbiology, Human Biology, Anatomy and Physiology I and Anatomy and Physiology II.

Labster allows teachers to use the internet to explore, improve, and add to their science lessons and classroom activities. Labster's STEM-related virtual lab simulations catalog now has more than 300 titles. These simulations can be used in more than 50 academic courses. In addition, the browser based Labster simulations can be performed on a range of the most commonly used devices, from desktop computers to iPad and tablets to Chromebooks.

Independent research and case studies show that the gamification techniques and fun, real-world scenarios of the Labster simulations get students more interested and involved. Learners can explore simulations on their own in high-tech labs through their web browsers, eliminating schools from spending millions building new facilities. Students can try out Sophia Learning courses before signing up for a low-cost monthly plan to take college-level courses. In addition, Labster virtual labs and interactive science solutions are available for free to educators.

About Sophia Learning

Sophia Learning offers high-quality online college-credit courses with a curriculum tailored to students and working adults. In addition, the platform provides lots of online, low-cost general education-level courses for college credit that ACE® recommends. Over 1,000 colleges and universities received Sophia's transcripts. The company was established in 2012 and believed in making personal and professional affordable and accessible at every educational career stage.

About Labster

Founded in 2011, Labster is committed to making fully interactive virtual training simulations. These simulations help students learn more by piquing their natural curiosity and showing them how science applies to the real world. The simulations can be used in various ways, from a complete lab replacement to an additional learning activity. As a result, more than 5 million students in high school universities across 70 countries have used Labster to conduct realistic experiments, practice skills in a risk-free environment and learn key science concepts.

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