BLOOMINGTON — Shortly before spring break last year, an Illinois Wesleyan University student asked her professor if she had considered using online simulations to replace animal dissections.
“My answer was that I had never found teaching resources in such digital formats that I was convinced really gave a meaningful substitute for hands-on dissection experiences,” said Sheryl Soukup, an adjunct assistant professor of biology and laboratory coordinator. “Then COVID hit and everything changed.”
Soukup said, “It was just a scramble. … You throw everything up in the air and catch as much as we can deliver.”
As spring break was extended, Soukup went to her lab, took pictures of specimens that would be needed for review and testing, then cleaned the lab thoroughly.
“I had this eerie feeling that I was not going to be back there for a long time,” said Soukup.
Picture Source: DAVID PROEBER
