Pearson Interactive Labs

Reimagining online labs

Pearson Interactive Labs

Overview
Available Labs

Microbiology

Pearson^® Interactive Labs for Microbiology is an easy-to-use suite of online microbiology lab simulations. Real-world clinical scenarios create an immersive experience where students learn by doing. Students receive guided feedback as they master lab techniques. All labs include customizable post-lab assessment. You can access the following labs with Pearson Microbiology titles in Mastering^® Microbiology at no additional cost. Pearson Microbiology titles also include access to biology labs.

Available labs

NEW! Gram Stain

Students conduct a Gram stain analysis of a bacterial culture to support a diagnosis and antibiotic treatment. When the slide is visualized under the microscope, students use the control smears to diagnose how decolorization went. They sort out challenges with Gram staining, including mistakes with decolorization, use of an aging culture, and interpretation of control smears.

NEW! Smear Prep

In this virtual lab, students prepare smears and perform simple stains on both solid and liquid bacterial cultures. They view stained specimens under the microscope to determine microbial presence and cellular morphology. Next, relying on what they have learned in the lab, students explore simple staining for presumptive pathogen identification. Finally, students will examine common errors like incorrect smear thickness and improper heat-fixing technique.

NEW! Aseptic Technique

Students use aseptic technique to transfer a bacterial culture to various media without contamination. They work progressively through the steps of aseptic technique using three culture media. While transferring from the first media, student errors are identified and corrected. During the second transfer, students have to rely on what they learned previously to make decisions, but their errors are caught and corrected. In the final transfer, they must recall the steps of aseptic technique and apply them.

NEW! Microscopy (for Microbiology)

In this virtual lab experiment, students will learn the proper care of a microscope, its principal components, the common problems that can occur while in use and how to examine microbial samples to determine results. Students begin by visualizing the causative agent of a patient’s illness by bringing the culprit organism into focus and ultimately identifying the organism implicated by a rapid test.

NEW! Streak for Isolation

In this virtual lab, students will perform a streak for isolation to isolate different types of bacteria that are present in a sample from an infected wound. The isolation streaks are performed to obtain single, isolated colonies that will be further differentiated by the colony characteristics. The isolation streak will separate out the infecting bacteria as pure colonies, which can be sampled and identified, helping inform treatment.

NEW! Endospore Stain

In this virtual lab, endospore stains will be performed on various bacterial specimens to identify the presence or absence of endospores. During this exercise, students will learn the process of endospore staining and apply this technique to control clinical samples. Next, they will conduct an endospore staining procedure to look for the presence of C. difficile under a microscope. This information will inform treatment and protect the other residents in the medical facility.

NEW! Acid-Fast Stain

In this virtual lab, students will perform acid-fast stains on control organisms and then analyze them along with an acid-fast stain from a sick patient’s sputum sample to determine the presence of acid-fast bacteria. Students will gain an understanding of the benefits of the acid-fast stain as a reliable, rapid detection technique for acid-fast bacteria, like the one that causes tuberculosis.

NEW! Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

Students will become well-versed in the Kirby-Bauer antimicrobial sensitivity procedure in this virtual lab. After a procedural overview on how to perform and interpret results, students will perform the procedure on two pure liquid bacterial cultures and evaluate drug sensitivity based on measured zones of inhibition and their correlation with values in a standard table. The lesson ends by examining the clinical relevance of the learned technique as well as common misconceptions and technique errors.