California State U Signs 23-Campus Site License for Virtual Science Labs

Labster

Labster's wastewater treatment virtual lab simulation allows students to work with specific steps of water treatment and prepare samples for micropollutant analysis. Source: Labster

California State University has signed a site license with Labster, giving each of its 23 campuses the option of using the company's 159 virtual laboratory simulations.

The CSU Chancellor's Office is making Labster's software available to help its STEM faculty enable students to experience scientific inquiry and discovery even as in-person offerings are limited at physical schools.

"Labster's virtual lab simulations are available for over 20 disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics and engineering," said Leslie Kennedy, senior director of Academic Technology Services at the CSU Chancellor's Office, in a press release. "The software supplements faculty's virtual instruction, enabling students to continue to achieve their higher education goals."

The simulations run on regular computers and use 3D animations to enable students to simulate the use of lab equipment and perform experiments. The company's catalog cover topics from acids and bases to wastewater treatment.

A webinar recording is available on YouTube in which a CSU professor of biochemistry and a professor of biology demonstrate how they use the virtual labs in their courses.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • cloud and circuit patterns with AI stamp

    Cloud Management Startup Launches Infrastructure Intelligence Tool

    A new AI-powered infrastructure intelligence tool from cloud management startup env0 aims to turn the fog of sprawling, enterprise-scale deployments into crisp, queryable insight, minus the spreadsheets, scripts, and late-night Slack threads.

  • human figures surrounded by precise arcs with book and gear icons

    Kennedy-King College Rolls Out Holistic Student Support Program

    Chicago's Kennedy-King College is expanding student support services through a collaboration between City Colleges of Chicago and One Million Degrees (OMD), a Chicago-based nonprofit serving low-income community college students.

  • college students in a classroom focus on a silver laptop, with a neural network diagram on the monitor in the background

    Report: 93% of Students Believe Gen AI Training Belongs in Degree Programs

    The vast majority of today's college students — 93% — believe generative AI training should be included in degree programs, according to a recent Coursera report. What's more, 86% of students consider gen AI the most crucial technical skill for career preparation, prioritizing it above in-demand skills such as data strategy and software development.

  • laptop and fish hook

    Security Firm Identifies Generative AI 'Vishing' Attack

    A new report from Ontinue's Cyber Defense Center has identified a complex, multi-stage cyber attack that leveraged social engineering, remote access tools, and signed binaries to infiltrate and persist within a target network.