Approach to optical microscopy through an interactive game, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Educational Games for Learning Microscopy

Abstract

The pandemic context promoted sudden changes in education, directly impacting the integration between practical and theoretical classes inherent to Higher Education. The role of biotechnologists has provided improvements in human health, and the Microbiology approach is essential in their training. The objective of this work was to develop a low-cost game about variations in the optical microscopy technique that could be performed remotely. After conducting lectures for the general presentation of the theme, the graduates elaborated questions and set up digital board using Powerpoint (Microsoft®) resources. The proposed game was based on the rules and instructions of the game “Face-to-face” (Estrela®). The game was run synchronously by the Videoconf RNP platform. The realization of this activity integrated, even if remotely, the undergraduate-graduate and undergraduate-faculty pairs in a playful and educational atmosphere. The massive participation of undergraduates and the quality of the questions raised by them during the execution of the game suggest effective learning of the content addressed. Despite the difficulties with accessing the internet reported by some of the participants, the activity was successful and minimized negative impacts related to not taking practical classes in optical microscopy, due to the suspension of face-to-face activities at UFBA during the aforementioned supplementary semester.