Virtual Labs: Augmenting Learning — from CampusTechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser
Colorado State University’s engineering department has taken its labs online to augment classroom activities and help students get their assignments done while away from campus.
There was a time when college science labs were limited to the space between four walls and furnished with thick, black tables, stools, and the equipment needed to conduct experiments and/or get assignments completed. Technology has since infiltrated these spaces, making them more state-of-the-art in nature, but students typically must be physically present in class in order to get the lab work done.
Colorado State University in Fort Collins has found a way around that glitch by developing a number of “virtual labs” across campus. Not meant to replace classroom instruction, the labs augment traditional learning by giving remote students access to the tools and information they need to complete their labs when they can’t be on campus.
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To use the virtual labs, students need only a computer and Internet access. “They can get all of the software that they need to get the work done virtually,” said Ritschard, “even if they don’t have the latest and greatest laptop or computer.”