USM OnTrack Update: Labster will be *NO COST* to Students

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 10:45:30 -0400
online-learning, simulations, virtual-labs, virtual-reality

USM OnTrack is now providing a system-wide site license for all USM institutions for Labster. As a result, it will NOT be necessary to charge students the $45/course fee.

The upgraded agreement will last for a full calendar year (fall, winter, spring, and summer terms) and will provide access to Labster's services including faculty development, access to ALL simulations, tech support, etc.

USM is providing faculty training and inter-institutional coordination of resources to explore the use of virtual reality technologies by Labster for use in lab-based courses. Virtual reality technologies give students access to realistic lab experiences that will let them perform experiments and practice their skills. These tools promise to provide sufficiently high-fidelity simulations for learning lab techniques and inquiry skills, particularly for lower-level lab courses.

Labster has set up a website for USM OnTrack to allow faculty and others to review their catalog of labs/simulations.

Here is a link to the recording of the last demo session on July 7 in case you have faculty/staff who were unable to attend: https://youtu.be/snf6l0QaQAQ

Labster will begin offering more in-depth training sessions starting next week, including sessions targeted at biology, chemistry, and physics:

Wednesday July 15th - 9-10am Register here.

Friday July 17th - 9-10am Register here.

Tuesday July 21st - 12-1pm Register here.

Thursday July 23rd (Biology Specific) - 3-4pm Register here.

Monday July 27th (Chemistry Specific) - 9-10am Register here.

Tuesday July 28th (Physics Specific) - 12-1pm Register here.

You can also find these trainings and registration links on the USM OnTrack Labster website: https://www.labster.com/usm/