When computer labs go virtual
OUR UD | Once upon a time at UD, personal computing required working your schedule around the open hours of campus computing labs, including the one in the basement of Smith Hall. While the age of laptops and wireless Internet has provided a bit more flexibility, students have remained tethered to physically visiting labs offering access to high-end databases and specialized technologies. Until now.
Responding to industry advancement and student demand, the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics this fall unveiled the University’s first-ever Virtual Lab.
Virtual labs, which are sometimes referred to as “anytime-anywhere” labs, provide remote access to much-needed software, enabling students to do such things as integrate data for accounting, reporting and research. These cloud-based computer resources are now available whether students are sitting outside of Purnell Hall, lounging in their residence halls or visiting parents in another state.
Students taking Business Computing, for example, work with spreadsheets and databases both in and out of class. In the past, limited access to the special database management systems software required for this work meant that many students had to complete their homework and study for exams during open computer lab hours. This could be a challenge, especially since this course is required for all Lerner students.
Barb Cullis, manager of information technology and research for the Lerner College, describes the lab as “an enabling technology that facilitates learning through teamwork, innovation and experiential coursework, preparing students for new careers in the 21st century global market place.”
During the first few weeks of the fall semester, the Lerner College’s TechDeck, run primarily by student technicians, met with 350 students to provide a hands-on overview of the Virtual Lab.
“Students have been excited at the opportunity to run software never before accessible to them,” said Michael Evans, manager of computing operations for the Lerner College.
Article by Sunny Rosen, AS14
