Abstract
The challenges of practicum learning for the vocational institute are increasingly prominent. Innovation is needed to utilize technology and learning media to support distance learning and adaptive learning. Phytochemistry Practicum, a course given in the third semester of the Pharmaceutical and Food Analysis Department of Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta II, provides knowledge and skills to analyze chemical compounds in plants. This study aimed to develop interactive learning media for remote practicum of phytochemical screening materials at the Pharmaceutical and Food Analysis Department of Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta II. The methods used in this study were descriptive exploratory for laboratory experiment, multi-media development life cycle (MDLC) for AR development, and game development life cycle (GDLC) for building the gamification system. The augmented reality application and education game have been published in Playstore under the name AR Fitokimia and Virtual Lab Fitokimia. Both of these products were able to be accessed easily through mobile devices.
TopIntroduction
The phytochemical subject is a compulsory course for second-year diploma students (third semester) in the Pharmaceutical and Food Analysis Department of Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta II. One of the learning materials is the phytochemical screening of Simplicia, such as alkaloid screening, glycoside screening, flavonoid screening, saponin screening, steroids-triterpenoids, and tannin screening.
Mobile learning application in the phytochemical area is limited. Research on AR technology in the learning of phytochemicals had not been conducted. It is essential to develop intelligent learning objects to assist students in practical laboratories from the experimental results of phytochemical screening by designing a mobile AR application (Srivastava, 2016).
This research aimed to enrich teaching materials for Phytochemical Practicum courses in Pharmaceutical and Food Analysis Department of Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta II by applying Augmented Reality (AR) technology and optimizing smartphone usage. In particular, this study aimed to obtain interactive learning media in the form of marker-based mobile applications and to obtain the results of testing trials for learning Phytochemical Practicum in Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta II. The AR technology-based learning media were expected to introduce experimental results interactively and efficiently so that students could observe in detail and make remote practicum easier and fun.
The authors tried to study the format of microlearning media that teachers can use as a form of innovation in the learning process. Based on the results of the preliminary data survey held in 2020 and 2022 as explained in this chapter, the authors needed to develop learning applications with various features to meet the needs of remote practicum learning. These studies are in line with the research topic required in the research roadmap of the team for the period 2020-2024, which is the development of learning technology (Figure 1). Completing the research roadmap for the innovation of phytochemical practicum learning is the background of the research team to develop two Android-based applications that are proposed to students in the same course.
Figure 1. State of the art chart and research roadmap
The utilization of gamification in learning phytochemical practicums can hopefully facilitate students in understanding the phytochemical screening procedures for alkaloid compounds, glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins in mobile technology and virtual laboratory environments and can improve student learning outcomes. Marker information for the augmented reality application is added to the game's material features to enrich the understanding of phytochemical screening results. The research program aimed to design virtual laboratory applications based on gamification for the phytochemical screening materials.
TopBackground
With the use of increasingly massive digital technology coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic that has lasted over two years, the challenges of the health and education sectors are increasing. The Covid-19 pandemic encourages educators to be ready and able to teach by integrating digital technology in today's science era. Online learning has become an alternative used to solve conventional learning problems. Today's students prefer to self-study by viewing interactive videos, games, projects, and more (Ng, 2012; Thomas, 2011).
The Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association survey for the second quarter of 2020 recorded that Indonesia's Internet users increased by 23.5 million or 8.9% compared to 2018. Based on the empirical evidence, the use of gadgets and the internet during the pandemic increased as distance learning. Gadget devices used by society today have diverse functions; some use them for business purposes, office work, entertainment media, learning media, or just for communication. The most common gadget device encountered in people's lives is a smartphone. Almost everyone has a smartphone, from office workers, teenagers, and children to the elderly. In addition to being easy to carry anywhere, smartphones today can support various activities and ease accessing the internet.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Simplicia: Natural ingredients for medicine that are generally in the form of dried materials. The plant parts used comprised rhizomes, leaves, stems, bark, thallus, fruit, flowers, herbs, and seeds.
Phytochemical Screening: The practice of examining plant secondary metabolites to find out the presence of various biologically active compounds.
Digital Learning: An educational method that uses digital devices with a system in which students learn using online resources to adapt technology in the class.
AR Fitokimia: An android-based interactive learning application that focuses on phytochemical practicum in the Pharmaceutical and Food Analysis Department of Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta II. This application uses a marker-based augmented reality technology to help understand phytochemical screening material in distance learning.
Remote Practicum: The part of a course in college or university consisting of practical work in a particular field that is capable of being operated from a distance with electronic devices and interactive technology.
Microlearning: A learning strategy to present teaching material in a small-scale learning process.
Virtual Lab Fitokimia: An android-based interactive learning application based on simulation of the phytochemical laboratory in the Pharmaceutical and Food Analysis Department of Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta II to help the students practice phytochemical screening and explore the learning in the virtual world.