There are a number of challenges with traditional lab training, like shortage of physical labs for employees and students, high costs associated with setting up lab facilities, periodical maintenance and replacement of hardware, etc. Virtual ICT labs are capable of addressing these issues one at a time, while bringing along a number of other advantages.
Virtual ICT labs are a great place for students to train in a secure online environment. Learners will communicate with elements of computers and interfaces in interactive science lab games and engineering simulation applications before or instead of testing them out in real life. Virtual laboratories have a broad variety of uses in both college and industry settings. The most difficult problem that learners and educators face is figuring out how to incorporate simulated labs into their e-learning courses.
In this article, we will discuss what exactly a virtual lab is, how it works and how to effectively incorporate it in e-learning courses.
What Are ICT Virtual Labs?
A virtual ICT lab enables hands-on learning with remote access to the lab environment from anywhere using any device. Learners use cutting-edge technologies to execute a series of tests that generate real-world results.
They can run codes and deduce a learning goal depending on the results. Hence, a virtual laboratory is a valuable complement to your virtual class as a whole. Educational institutes can create new virtual labs on the fly and provide remote access to students wherever they are.
AccOps’s HyLabs has initiated a transformation of the IT infrastructure in universities and educational institutions using standards-based Virtualization and Remote Access Solutions. These solutions enable the creation of virtual labs instantly and facilitate dynamic ICT lab provisioning to encourage automated orchestration, monitoring and centralized management.
Moreover, these virtual labs can not only be deployed but also managed by faculty through a self-service portal. Hence, there’s no need for intervention from the IT team, and students can access virtual labs securely anytime, anywhere, and from any device.
Benefits Of Virtual Labs
Reduce Costs
Investing in a high-end physical ICT lab is costly. Having several PCs with the needed peripherals for staff, and students to be trained is highly expensive. Maintaining, repairing and replacing the infrastructure of the many physical labs typical present in schools and universities consumes a lot of time, efforts and money.
Guarantee Safety
Learners may use virtual laboratories without ever compromising the security. Virtual labs ensure that research data and other such important academic information being used in the lab environment remains safe and secure and is always in control of the institution.
Empower Teaching Faculty
By using virtual ICT labs, faculty members can incorporate lab sessions in their pedagogy and provide hands-on learning experience for students. Moreover, they shall have complete control and ability to recommend, deploy, and maintain their preferred resources. Faculty may make improvements to labs on their own using a self-service interface, like deploying new labs, without needing IT assistance.
Enhance Digital Learning Experience
Since the lab environments and equipment are not locked inside the labs, students have the freedom to research, study, practise at any time.Students can gain access to labs from wherever they are – anywhere in campus, or in hostels, or in their homes.
Efficient Utilization of Lab Resources
HyLabs’ lab reservation feature allows users to dynamically provision virtual desktops. The automatic, conflict-free sharing of the virtual lab resources across departments is made possible by time-based provisioning. This encourages the optimal utilisation of lab resources.
Extend the Student Outreach
A modern educational institute or university aims to incorporate additional classes, campuses, and students into their programs, as well as widening their scope through distance learning and online courses open to any student anywhere in the world. The use of ICT virtual labs are the perfect solution to make this dream a reality.
Enable Study From Home During A Pandemic
With ICT labs, students can use labs in the same way they did before Covid19, and provide them with all of the resources they’ll need. Students can learn at any time, on any device, without having to travel, and they can reserve ICT labs or generic lab equipment on their own.
Consolidate Budget Allocation
Instead of dividing funds across multiple departments, consolidate budget spending by efficiently sharing an optimized ICT infrastructure across departments. With ICT labs, you can enable students to use their own devices and gain immediate access to laboratories, reducing their dependence on university-provided devices.
Conclusion
The multiple benefits mentioned above is a testimony to the fact Virtual labs is a sustainable replacement for physical ICT labs, moving forward. If you’re looking to integrate a virtual lab to enhance the student experience, consider contacting AccOps today!