Return to RWSL Development - Home

 

 

"How-to" Adoption Manual

 

Introduction

This set of documents focuses on answering the question, "What information does an institution require to build an RWSL node?" It is a document that targets technical people, but it would be of interest to administrators as well and in the process of telling how to build an RWSL Node can also help an institution considering the building of an RWSL Node to make the decision to proceed or not.

 

To this end it includes a set of definitions to clarify the terminology used here, describes what an RWSL node consists of, describes what is required to actually set up an RWSL unit, and suggests a procedure for doing so.  Finally it gives some brief case studies of the experience at North Island College (NIC) and the Colorado Community College System (CCCS).  Even with this document in hand, institutions are advised to consult with the NANSLO Coordinator and/or the R&D and Technical Standards Committee. (At the time of writing the NANSLO Coordinator has not been put in place and the R&D and Technical Standards Committee currently consists of Dan Brannan at CCCS and Albert Balbon at NIC by default.  As the NANSLO RDN grows and changes this committee will grow and change.)

 

Abstract

This is a word document that can be downloaded and disseminated through web-sites and sharing.  There is a downloadable copy here.

 

Table of Contents:

 

Section 1. RWSL and RDN Definitions 

Other pages referenced in this section:

RWSL Components

Recommended Equipment and Vendors

RWSL Labs and Lab Exercises - NIC

RWSL Labs and Lab Exercises - CCCS

 

Section 2. RWSL Node Requirements - Setting up an RWSL Node

Other pages referenced in this section:

RWSL and RDN Definitions

Tech Staff-Support

RWSL Components

RWSL Labs and Lab Exercises - NIC

RWSL Labs and Lab Exercises - CCCS

RWSL Set-up and Training Time

 

Section 3. Case studies

Other pages referenced in this section:

 

What happened in BC?

NIC Policies and Procedures

RWSL Labs and Lab Exercises - NIC

What happened in Colorado?

CCCS Policies and Procedures

RWSL Labs and Lab Exercises - CCCS

Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned-General

 

Looking Ahead

I hope I have been able to shed some light on the process of building an RWSL Node and that you have enough information to proceed to your next step whether it be a decision on whether or not to build an RWSL Node or to actually implement one.  Remote science lab usage is going to increase in the near future and RWSL and similar remote lab delivery strategies are going to be improved as our experience with them accumulates.  The CCCS RWSL Node in Denver Colorado is planning to deliver remote lab services for upwards of 4000 student lab exercises in the 2012/2013 academic year and there are plans afoot to increase this level of usage in subsequent years.  In BC, the NIC Node (where RWSL originated) is being used to develop new RWSL labs and to serve remote lab exercises to a few students, but to date the capacity is not there to provide the level of service that CCCS is capable of.  It is hoped that this condition will change in the near future.  There is interest at other institutions to build additional RWSL nodes.  Institutions that have expressed this interest include Kwantlen Polytechnic University in BC, the University of Montana, and others.  The next several years are going to be exciting as the development and proliferation of remote lab service capability expands.

 

Good luck with your own remote lab delivery plans.

 

Ron Evans, MSc

North Island College Instructor and RWSL concept co-originator

NANSLO RWSL Architect