| Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) is a growing field within healthcare, however the number of MLS programs available in the United States is declining. As some universities close their MLS programs, others are turning towards online classes to provide education to a greater number of students and satisfy the workforce demand. MLS is a degree program heavy in laboratory classes, so these online programs will include online labs in place of traditional in-class labs. This study will determine if online lab activities are as effective for student comprehension as traditional lab activities. High school students enrolled in Advanced Biology courses were the participants in this study. Group A performed the online laboratory first, followed by the traditional laboratory, while Group B performed the traditional laboratory first, followed by the online laboratory. Both groups completed a pre-, mid-, and post-test to determine the comprehension and understanding of the topic gained from each activity. We hypothesize that online labs are just as effective as in-class labs in regards to student comprehension. Results from this study show that the participants who performed the online lab activity showed a significantly greater increase in knowledge over the participants who performed the traditional lab activity. The results of this study may provide insight into innovative methodologies for professors in the laboratory sciences who teach labs to online or distant students. Universities may then add accredited MLS programs to their online course content, provide more opportunities for students to become certified in the field, and therefore satisfy the workforce demand. |