Integrated Laboratory Network: Better Access to Scientific Instrumentation

Award Winner: 
2004 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award
Author Information
Author(s): 
John Sener, The Sloan Consortium
Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred: 
Western Washington University
Effective Practice Abstract/Summary
Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice: 

Western Washington University's Integrated Laboratory Network (ILN) provides access to scientific instrumentation and expertise anytime, and from anywhere by allowing students and researchers to operate instruments located at different campus locations from any Internet-equipped computer. The ILN also enables direct exchange of information, data, access to expertise, and classroom material. The ILN is conceived as a model for the virtual laboratory of the future, enabling learners and teachers to apply the philosophy that science is a dynamic, iterative, ongoing, and collaborative process.

Description of the Effective Practice
Description of the Effective Practice: 

How this practice supports access: Historically, access to analytical instrumentation in undergraduate education has been limited by a variety of factors including cost, space, technology, and availability of technical personnel, among others. These limits have resulted in diminishing the laboratory learning experience by creating an instrumentation access "bottleneck:" students typically have only a very brief exposure to instruments and little opportunity to practice what they've learned or to fully analyze data generated by these instruments. The result is a "one student-one sample-one exposure" learning model which prevents students from experiencing the real iterative, on-going process of science. Western Washington University's Integrated Laboratory Network (ILN) is a new initative that combines laboratory, computer, and instructional technology to overcome this instrumentation access bottleneck. The ILN vision is of viewing the entire university as a single, integrated, distributed virtual laboratory, with its facilities, instrumentation, and expertise accessible anytime and from any place via the university network. More specifically, the ILN uses commercial software (Blackboard, NetMeeting) to link actual instruments producing real data and to allow students and researchers to operate instruments located at different campus locations from any Internet-equipped computer (personal as well as campus). The ILN also enables direct exchange of information, data, access to expertise, and classroom material. This allows students to receive training on use of scientific instruments for research and classroom activites at an earlier stage in their studies.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice
Evidence of Effectiveness: 

Though still in its initial stages, the ILN has already demonstrated its ability to increase access to scientific instrumentation. The ILN currently has 16 laboratory instruments available, including several gas chromatograph/mass spectrometers, a scanning electron microscope, and liquid scintillation counter among others. To date, WWU has used the ILN to introduce Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy in the first-year general chemistry class (400 students), an environmental studies course (60 students), and a high school chemistry class (30 students). The ILN has also been used in several other courses, including geomorphology and pharmaceutical science. The National Science Foundation has recently funded WWU to conduct a pilot scale evaluation of the feasibility of other institutions adopting the principles and practices of the ILN. The development of inter-institutional ILNs would allow instruments and supporting material to be shared between institutions for both teaching and research. To date, student and faculty feedback to the ILN has been positive. Sample student comments from a geomorphology class using a particle size analyzer include: "It gave me a great sense of what actual analytic work is all about and made me feel like a professional." "It was neat to actually have a working model and then use hi-tech equipment to test it." "I really enjoyed the hands-on applications and learning experienced in this lab." "Thanks for exposing us to the really cool Mastersizer machine!" Future plans include continuing ILN development so that "students working at home or in computer labs will be able to conduct experiments on laboratory instruments and to analyze data that otherwise would be 'off limits' once the lab door closes." Sample faculty comments related to the NSF-funded pilot project with the University of British Columbia include: "As a teaching tool, the concept of an ILN could revolutionize what we do." "The ILN will greatly expand our ability to teach students about the tools available to address current research problems." "When you see what is made possible with the ILN, you realize that in essence, this is what technology and our (UBC's) world-class network is for. Students not only see how scientific research is done in the 'real world,' it allows them to do what researchers do."

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice: 

Much of the technology necessary to develop a university-wide ILN is easily available and often free (e.g., Microsoft's NetMeeting, which is often packaged with the purchase of a new computer; similar products such as VNC which are available over the internet). Many universities have common or shared file formats which allow for the storage of large data sets as well as relatively robust networks. These tools provide the essential networking components to the development of an ILN and allow instruments to be easily connected over the Internet. Faculty web sites can be used in lieu of Course Management Systems. As part of the NSF-funded pilot project, evaluations are currently being developed to determine instrumental and other associated cost of developing and incorporating the principles and practices of an ILN.

References, supporting documents: 

UBC's E-Learning seminar series retrieved 2/24/04 from: http://www.olt.ubc.ca/seminars/archived/iln_talk/

Other Comments: 

The WWU ILN vision builds on the "collaboratory" vision promoted by William Wulf of the National Science Foundation, which proposes "a center without walls, in which the nation's researchers can perform their research without regard to geographical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources." The WWU ILN seeks to expand this model to include teaching and learning as well as research. Most other current examples of remote operation of laboratory equipment offer relatively limited access because they are more time- and place-bound. What's appealing about the WWU ILN model is that:

  • it recognizes that many of the current shortcomings of science teaching and learning are based on pedagogical adaptations to resource constraints;
  • it harnesses the ability of current technology to overcome these obstacles; and
  • it attempts to create a learning model that mirrors the actual scientific process -- "dynamic, iterative, ongoing, and collaborative." [-- js, 2/15/04]
Contact(s) for this Effective Practice
Effective Practice Contact: 
Devon Cancilla, Director, Scientific Technical Services, WWU
Email this contact: 
Devon.Cancilla@wwu.edu
Tags:
© 2012, The Sloan Consortium