Prince William Sound Community College

With small communities spread across the Alaskan Bush, some of which have no road access, our institution was faced with a daunting challenge: how can we overcome a lack of infrastructure and trained lab assistants to provide a high quality, real time science lab?

Our virtual wet lab system seeks to provide a “hands on” lab environment where students can do a live lab together, regardless of physical location. Intuitive camera presets ease the frustration of trying to examine multiple objects in real time in order to complete labs in faster than real time. One lab allows students to instantly cross fruit fly traits and explore the fundamentals of Mendelian genetics. Another lab examines the DNA of a poached fish as students complete a 24 hour lab in 2 hours. We use a virtual world to re-conceptualize what it means to conduct a science lab: the student becomes a participant within whatever image or data they are observing. For example, by controlling time, students experience predatory natural selection as a bird hunting for food during 250 years of environmental change. Other labs, such as fermentation and biochemical evidence for evolution, delay reactions to enhance data collection.

Students enjoy interacting with altered time and virtual space as they develop essential lab skills that can be applied toward new situations in more advanced classes.

An Overview of the Virtual Lab

The video above demonstrates what our virtual lab can do. If the embedded link does not work, you can access the file here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj88kWVuvS8

NOTE: This video is public but, for privacy, is unlisted. Because of this, you may not be able to view the video using a YouTube app on an Apple mobile device.

Getting Started

To download the most recent 3.x Second Life Viewer, visit this page:
http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/?lang=en-US

Here is a SLURL to our island:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/PrinceWilliamSoundCC1/100/129/25

No other software is required. We have provided access to four labs. Each lab is complemented by a lab handout that you can print:

• Mendelian Genetics Lab Handout (113.0 KiB)

• Natural Selection Lab Handout (129.3 KiB)

• Gel Electrophoresis Lab Handout (1.9 MiB)

• Mass Density Volume Lab Handout (25.2 KiB)

Completing a handout is not required, but you should read each one as they provide an overview of what you will be observing for each lab. The actual directions to complete the lab are given to you as you do them by our virtual lab HUD within Second Life. The video below will explain how to get into Second Life using the 3.x viewer, teleport to our island, acquire your lab HUD, and work within the virtual lab environment.

If the embedded link does not work, you can access the file here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8rZj3xph4U

NOTE: This video is public but, for privacy, is unlisted. Because of this, you may not be able to view the video using a YouTube app on an Apple mobile device.

Problems or Questions?

If you encounter a problem while conducting these virtual labs, you can contact Siiaas Saarinen in Second Life. Or, contact:

Don Bickley
Virtual Worlds Designer
Prince William Sound Community College
Valdez, AK 99686
907-834-1646
dbickley At pwscc DOT edu

Additional Information

To learn more about what we are achieving with Immersive education in Alaska.