Tool URL: http://www.wiche.edu/nanslo

Institution URL: http://www.wiche.edu/nanslo

Interested users should contact the node that they are interested in using to schedule labs and reserve times and receive more information. Information on nodes and labs available can be found at www.wiche.edu/nanslo Once reservations are confirmed users will need to prepare for the remote lab by following the steps at http://denverlabinfo.nanslo.org.

The NANSLO labs allow users to perform remote web based science lab activities for online student users.

NANSLO is an international consortium enabling access to high-quality, modular, openly licensed courseware, integrating immersive web-based labs with software, video and robotics for the study of science courses. These creative science solutions allow students that might not otherwise have the opportunity to take science courses, the ability to access and perform sophisticated experiments remotely. NANSLO currently has three Nodes where remote web-based science labs are hosted – in Colorado, Montana, and British Columbia

• Offer quality alternatives for online science lab activities.
• Increase access to science education for distance and online students.
• Offer an alternative to lab kits and simulations for students performing online science lab activities.

The North American Network of Science Labs Online (NANSLO) is an alliance of cutting-edge science laboratories that provide students enrolled in higher education science courses with opportunities to conduct their lab experiments on state-of-the-art science equipment over the Internet. From any computer, students can log into one of the labs’ web interfaces and manipulate the controls on a microscope or other scientific equipment, participate in conversations with lab partners, ask for assistance from a knowledgeable lab technician in real time, and collect data and images for their science assignments. Over 25 lab activities have been designed and developed to target online science students in introductory level biology, physics and chemistry courses. Node locations include Denver, CO (Colorado Community College System) and Great Falls, MT (Great Falls College Montana State University) and Courtenay, British Columbia (North Island College). Students however are not limited by the physical locations of the labs and anyone in the world with an internet connection can log in to this unique cutting edge technology to perform scientific lab activities using real equipment. Online science education has lagged behind other online educational disciplines due to many factors including reticence to replace hands on labs and lack of technology to adequately replicate a student lab experience. The NANSLO nodes have overcome these technological hurdles and allows students to gather highly accurate data and perform activities in real time. These activities are not simulations and the data the student gathers is of higher quality than that obtained via home lab kits. The remote lab experience also emphasizes student inquiry and problem solving in a collaborative environment as students work in groups via teleconference to complete activities. NANSLO lab activities provide a unique online laboratory experience for distance students at all educational levels.

Working with faculty across its network, NANSLO has developed a collection of web-based lab activities focused on introductory biology, allied health, chemistry, and physics courses. Each activity’s description contains information on its history, learning objectives, a set of guidelines for faculty on how to prepare students for the specific lab activity, and lab procedures for students to use in conducting the experiment. Links are also included to video tutorials that explain in more detail how to use the controls on the web interface for the relevant scientific equipment. All NANSLO materials are openly-licensed with a Creative Commons-By attribution so that faculty can adapt them to better suit their needs and those of their students. Among the growing list of lab activities in the collection is introduction to microscopy, mitosis and meiosis, emission spectroscopy, Beer-Lambert Law,uniform motion and accelerated motion. Interested faculty is encouraged to contact NANSLO lab managers about needs for other new web-based lab activities. See http://wiche.edu/nanslo for links to these lab activities. At the present time over 25 lab activities are available for faculty to choose from. NANSLO members are committed to improving student learning experiences and outcomes. At the completion of an activity students complete surveys describing their NANSLO experience through a third party surveyor and aggregate data and user feedback comments are reviewed regularly. The system is continuously evolving to improve and meet o

www.wiche.edu/nanslo

• Student labs completed.
• Impacts on student learning and outcomes.

Over 2000 students have completed NANSLO labs in the last year, and students who completed NANSLO labs on average performed similarly or better on assessments following the lab activity when compared to students completing the lab activity face-to-face.

Over 2000 students have completed NANSLO labs in the last year

• Lead time for equipment took longer than originally planned
• IT infrastructure and support is a key piece of successful implementation
• A hurdle for students has been hesitancy to using technology they are not familiar with

Infrastructure at the Colorado node was increased to accommodate the number of student users. Additionally a second node was established in Great Falls, Montana to increase access to students. This is a resource intensive process and requires extensive equipment, IT infrastructure and personnel support to get a node established. Additional information on specifics can be obtained by contacting lab managers at each node as costs vary by location.

COSTS

• Personnel
• Equipment
• IT infrastructure

Currently labs are offered to 8 two year institutions, however all labs have capacity to serve additional users.

www.wiche.edu/nanslo http://gfcmsu.edu/webs/NANSLO/index.htm http://denverlabinfo.nanslo.org https://cheo.pbworks.com/w/page/59450915/Consortium%20for%20Healthcare%2...

Brenda Canine 
NANSLO Lab Manger 
Great Falls College-MSU 
2100 16th Avenue South 
Great Falls, Montana 59405 
Phone: 4067714435 
brenda.canine@gfcmsu.edu

Brenda Canine 
NANSLO Lab Manger 
Great Falls College-MSU 
2100 16th Avenue South 
Great Falls, Montana 59405 
Phone: 4067714435 
brenda.canine@gfcmsu.edu