The adventures of Trev the tablet: replacing practical classes and lectures using an online game scenario

Both lectures and a ‘wet’ practical class using outdated equipment and expensive to run in both materials and staff and student time has been replaced by an integrated online site, incorporating a mixture of text with diagrams, video clips and multiple-choice questions. The online material has been organised into a ‘Snakes & Ladders’-type game scenario, where students must successfully complete mini self-assessment activities to progress onto subsequent sections. Movement through the gameboard is via an animated character, ‘Trev the tablet’ who is also used to explain the concepts and illustrate key points. An action research approach was used during the design and development phase of this module. Three stages of the development, including evaluation, are described.