Bioinformatics-based genetics practicum: An innovative remote learning approach keeping pace with the evolution of biological science

In addition to keeping up with the developments in the field of biology, the transformation of conventional genetics laboratory practices into bioinformatics-based laboratory practices has become essential in the digital learning era, which has emerged as a significant alternative form of education since the onset of the pandemic. The purpose of this research is to describe the form of bioinformatics-based genetics laboratory practices implemented in the Department of Biology Education. The study was conducted at a private university in Malang, Indonesia. The laboratory practices in the department spanned over 9 weeks, commencing with an introductory meeting, followed by five bioinformatics topics, and concluded with a project activity. The average scores for individual reports and tests in each laboratory topic for the students were excellent (95.51 and 81.79, respectively), as were their project report scores (93.77). Given the benefits and the importance of bioinformatics activities in biology laboratory practices, optimizing the curriculum design and enhancing both laboratory and theoretical teaching methods are necessary.