IMPACT OF VIRTUAL CHEMISTRY LAB SOFTWARE (VCLS) AND GENDER ON THE ACQUISITION OF PRACTICAL SKILLS IN ACID-BASE TITRATION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

The use of a virtual laboratory allows students to experience practical activities in the absence of adequate laboratory facilities however, the extent to which it can be used in the acquisition of practical skills needed to be determined. A quasi-experimental research design of a 2x2x2 non-randomized factorial matrix was adopted. 166 students in their intact classes comprising 62 male and 104 female students from six schools in Lagos State, Nigeria were used for the study. The schools were sampled based on the availability of functional chemistry laboratories for the control group and the availability of ICT resources for the experimental group. Three schools were selected for each group. The students in the experimental group carried out practical activities with Virtual Chemistry Laboratory Software (VCLS) while the students in the control group used the Conventional Laboratory Manual (CLM). Data were obtained with the use of the Chemistry Practical Skills Test (CPST) and the analysis was carried out with the use of descriptive statistics and ANOVA. The findings showed that chemistry students acquired practical skills with the use of VCLS just as with the use of CLM. Also, female chemistry students acquired practical skills more than their male peers. The use of virtual laboratories is therefore highly recommended in carrying out chemistry practical in secondary schools