Download NIC`s Remote Web-Based Science Laboratory Takes Flight

MEDIA RELEASE
November 19, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MR13-065
NIC’s Remote Web-Based Science Laboratory Takes Flight
It’s an exciting time for North Island College’s Remote Web-based Science Laboratory (RWSL) and its team as science
students from around the globe makes use of this ground breaking technology.
Initially developed by Albert Balbon, NIC’s Supervisor of Distributed Learning & Interactive Technology, and Ron Evans, a
NIC math/science instructor, to allow NIC Astronomy students located in remote regions access to a telescope and
camera combination, from the comfort of their homes, RWSL has evolved into a full suite of audio, video, hardware and
software. The equipment and the accompanying technology allow users to view, interact, control and collect real data
from experiments using actual science lab equipment, in real-time, over the internet.
“I see this technology as a solution for students to
take courses they would not otherwise have the
opportunity to complete,” explains Balbon. “It’s very
far reaching.”
As awareness and interest in RWSL has grown, so has
its funding and its reach. Currently NIC’s RWSL is
supported by both the North American Network of
Science Lab Online (NANSLO) and the Consortium for
Healthcare Education Online (CHEO) Project.
This week students taking distance biology courses
through Kodiak College in Alaska will be using the
RWSL for the first time. Groups of two to four
students, located anywhere in North America, and
Equipment from NIC's Remote Web-based Science Laboratory allows students
from around the world to access ground-breaking technology.
under the supervision of an instructor located in
Tennessee, will simultaneously ‘log-on’ to access the
microscope located in the Comox Valley.
The students will be able to work together, passing control of the microscope between them. To complete their lab
assignments, these students examine the slides provided as part of the lab curriculum, take high resolution photographs
that are then downloaded to their computers from which they gather necessary data.
The CHEO Grant, a four year project, will support the creation of new labs and new lab exercises. With input from
educational leaders in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and allied health, twelve new labs will be developed over
the next few years. 3,000 students from different states and provinces will benefit as a result of this investment.
Naomi Tabata, Manager, Centre for Applied Research, Technology and Innovation at NIC comments, “This is the first time
we’ve entered the RWSL into a partnership of this nature. We’ll be able to receive student and instructor feedback that
will help us determine what the technological capabilities actually are.”
2300 RYAN RD, COURTENAY, BC, V9N 8N6
TEL: 250-334-5271 FAX: 250-334-5292
WWW.NIC.BC.CA
[email protected]
MEDIA RELEASE
Because of the funding, Balbon has been able to establish two similar labs in Denver and one in Montana. Currently there
are seven microscopes in the system and each one can have up to four students working with it at a time. There are
plans to add one more lab to the system in the coming year.
For the past eighteen months, students from around British Columbia taking Space Science Astronomy 100 and 101
through NIC have been using the RWSL to complete the requirements for their courses.
The technology is also being used by NIC biology students studying on the Port Alberni campus.
“What we hope is that this will lead to other similar opportunities,” continues Tabata. “There is the potential to partner
with more institutions, perhaps smaller secondary schools whose budget doesn’t allow a full suite of microscopes,
possibly even homeschoolers. We’re very excited about sharing the technology.”
For more information about the Remote Web-based Science Laboratory contact Naomi Tabata at
[email protected].
-30Media Contact:
Susan Auchterlonie
Director, College & Community Relations
North Island College
tel 250-334-5271
cel 250-898-4146
[email protected]
2300 RYAN RD, COURTENAY, BC, V9N 8N6
TEL: 250-334-5271 FAX: 250-334-5292
WWW.NIC.BC.CA
[email protected]