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About Silvia

School: High School “Arturo Labriola”
‍Location: Naples, Italy
‍Classes Taught: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science
‍Teaching inspirations? My math and physics high school teacher.

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‍We sat down with science teacher Silvia Lippo and a few of her students to discuss how LabXchange made it possible to keep learning science during COVID-19. LabXchange was designed for – and with – educators. Our teacher co-developers and ambassadors help us ensure that LabXchange is easy to use, saves time, and also creates opportunities for both teachers and students. Thank you for everything you do, teachers!

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Using LabXchange

How has LabXchange helped you address challenges in your classroom/teaching practice? In this particular phase of life with all the COVID restrictions, we are unable to go into the classroom – therefore, all of our teaching is online. Labxchange has helped by simulating the “real” lab, keeping student motivation and interest high.

‍How has LabXchange helped you adapt a required  curriculum (for example, to support the specific learning needs of a class or student?): I have managed to include genetic engineering in the school curriculum, as I believe it very useful to teach this subject at the high school level. The animation on LabXchange explains the subject in a readily comprehensible and much better way.

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What sets LabXchange apart

What sets LabXchange apart from other online learning tools you have used? Labxchange stands out from other learning platforms because we can find much more to do. There are so many activities for the virtual lab.

‍What is your favorite LabXchange resource, and why? I haven’t used all of the resources, but the feature which is by far the best is the possibility of interaction by and with the students.

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Silvia’s hopes for the future

In 1-2 sentences, what do you hope to accomplish in your career as a STEM educator? This year I would love to include all of the classes I teach (6 in total) and enable them to work collaboratively, to put their input together to produce another video, Powerpoint, or other project. They are in the 3rd, 4th and 5th year at this Scientific Lyceum.‍

What’s your favorite science quote? From our “Italian maestro,” Leonardo da Vinci: “To develop a complete mind: study the science of art; study the art of science.”From the first and only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice in two scientific fields, Marie Curie: “I am among those who think that science has great beauty.”

‍Would you like to share your own LabXchange story? Contact us.

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Hear from Silvia’s Students

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Italia Volpe

Secondary Student, Liceo Labriola, Italy
The Labxchange site is very well organized and allows the creation of digital works to improve students’ knowledge while remaining in contact with teachers. In this period, it is essential to use the computer for many hours and the colored icons make study more pleasant.

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Danilo Formisano

Secondary Student, Liceo Labriola, Italy
When I first entered LabXchange, my first impression was positive. I really like the background graphic with the figures inside the hexagons, the login was fast and easy, the information is arranged and easy to find. In fact, if I want to look up information about the coronavirus, the site offers me a pathway that talks about what the pandemic is, and then explains the life cycle of the virus, where it came from, its symptoms, the diagnosis that is made to the infected and lastly the glossary of the virus. I feel completely satisfied with this site.

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Antonietta Carbone

Secondary Student, Liceo Labriola, Italy (ABE)
Labxchange is a digital multimedia platform developed by Harvard University in collaboration with the Amgen Foundation, whose goal is to promote and support high-level scientific education. On the website, you can find a lot of resources of all kinds, from the use of biotechnology to climate change. But it’s very interesting how the theme of the current coronavirus is treated: COVID-19 is introduced by explaining what it is and what the epidemic is; then it describes the bats, their flight, DNA damage and inflammation. After that, it passes to the different diagnoses and how they are made, to provide a more complete understanding.

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Antonio Di Meo

Secondary Student, Liceo Labriola, Italy
LabXchange is a study platform developed by Harvard University. This platform is a very nice and useful idea for a different and interesting way of studying that students could enjoy.The site is also dedicated to scientific divulgation, which consists of hundreds of articles that talk about many different topics like the very current coronavirus.The site is simple and intuitive. From the moment you open it, you can visit the articles, registering as a student is also very easy, as is entering a virtual classroom. The news is all reliable, because the site is run by Harvard and you can find really interesting articles. In particular, the news about the COVID-19 are many, of various types: texts, interactive and videos; all very reliable. Moreover, the site is periodically updated with these and many other interesting news from all over the globe in the world of science.

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‍Thank you to Silvia, Italia, Danilo, Antonietta, and Antonio for sharing their thoughts! Looking for more educator spotlights?