Wireless Laptops
and WebCT Combine
to Improve Student Lab Experience By
Shawn Heilemann
TEAL Student
Technology Assistant
Coastal
Carolina University marine science and chemistry professor Dr. Susan
Libes submitted two technology microgrant applications this year.
Although only one grant could be funded, Libes has been able to meet
the objectives of both with assistance from Coastal's Technology in
Education to Advance Learning (TEAL) Lab.
Libes' technology upgrade efforts this semester are directed at
MSCI 402 Analytical and Field Methods in Environmental Chemistry.
This course provides students with the opportunity to develop the
laboratory analysis and field sampling skills necessary to conduct
measurements of chemical and physical characteristics of water,
soils, organisms, and the atmosphere.
After having received a technology microgrant award in 2001 to
purchase a laptop, Libes had been using this one laptop to serve
all the students during the lab portion of MSCI 402. This experience
was awkward as file sharing with and among students had to be done
through Coastal's academic LAN (ALAN) server. Student access to
this server off-campus required the use of a file transfer protocol
(FTP) program, which was impossible with some Internet service providers
(ISPs) such as AOL.
All of these problems have now been solved through the use of TEAL
wireless laptops in the lab and an MSCI 402 course in WebCT, Coastal's
online course tool. With multiple laptops in the lab, students can
now finish most of their calculations before the end of class.
“This means that I can provide immediate assistance as the
students work on their data reports. In the past, valuable class
time was spent waiting in line to use my one laptop,” Libes
explained. “With less work finished in the lab, more work
had to be finished at home, creating a greater chance of misunderstanding.”
As a result, Libes found that a good percentage of the work she
assigned was turned in late and incorrect.
Thanks to the major technology grants awarded to Coastal this year,
though, the TEAL Lab was established and equipped with wireless
laptops that Libes checks out for her students each week.
Prior to lab, Libes uploads Excel worksheet templates to her MSCI
402 WebCT course. During the lab, her students download the templates
from the WebCT course, enter the data as they collect it, complete
calculations and graphs, and upload the results back to the WebCT
course page—all with the help of their laptops.
Students use the computers to record measurements and chart data.
“Because the students enter their measurements into the worksheets
as they collect them, data transcription errors are reduced and
students do not need to keep track of separate sheets of paper,”
Libes explained. The class uses Microsoft Excel to plot data trend
lines and see correlations instantaneously. Students also have less
trouble catching data mistakes because they can view the computed
results during class time and compare them to the rest of the class,
Libes noted.
Libes uses WebCT also to post her lecture materials, related URLs,
and examples of recent job ads in the field of environmental chemistry.
She uses WebCT e-mail to keep in touch with students about correcting
previous labs, and to provide online office hours. She also uses
the grade book so that students can view their course grades online.
“It’s a very user friendly program, and doesn’t
take much time or effort to use,” Libes said about WebCT.
“My favorite part is that it enables file sharing between
students and faculty from any computer with an Internet connection.”
Since there is an unlimited amount of storage space on the WebCT
server, Libes is able to upload any information that she might see
useful to her students without worry about space. She plans to integrate
computers and WebCT in her class more in the future, including putting
entire assignments in her WebCT course.
For now, though, said Libes, “I am delighted with how CCU
has been able to seamlessly integrate several types of technology
including WebCT, laptops, and wireless LAN service with technical
support throughout. The availability and high quality of support
from the TEAL Lab has also been invaluable.” •
END •
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Students
enter and view data on a laptop in
MSCI 402 lab
Students
use laptops to record data from another piece of electronic equipment
in the lab. Note the regression curve on the above laptop screen.
As students collect and enter data, they can see how good a straight-line
their data forms. If a point falls off the line, they can rerun
the sample to improve the result.
Susan
Libes is the 2003 recipient of the Distinguished Teacher-Scholar
Lecturer award, sponsored annually by Horry Telephone Cooperative.
A native of New York, Libes earned a bachelor’s degree in
chemistry in 1977 from Douglass College, Rutgers University, graduating
with general honors and distinction in chemistry. She received a
Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s joint
program in oceanography and ocean engineering in 1983.
Libes
joined the Coastal faculty in 1983 and served as chair of the Department
of Marine Science from 1993 to 2000. She is the founding program
director of Coastal’s state-certified Environmental Quality
Laboratory, which conducts water quality analysis of area beaches
and waterways in conjunction with local municipalities and state
regulatory agencies. Libes is also a research associate at USC’s
Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research,
an adjunct professor in Clemson University’s Department of
Forest Resources, and a research associate of Coastal’s Burroughs
& Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies.
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