NANSLO The interface between students and scientific discovery Susan Mircovich Kenai Peninsula College University of Alaska Anchorage

Assistant Professor of Chemistry (Service = Instructional Designer) Kenai Peninsula College UAA Survey of Chemistry Intro to Organic and Biochemistry General Chemistry I and II Susan Mircovich

After completing this session we will be able to help students prepare for a fun and educational NANSLO lab experience 3 Objectives

Most UAA students are non-traditional: 61.4% part-time > than 50% over the age of 24 UAA Fact Book Why Distance?

5 Live far from campus / Older student Learn at my own pace Balance work & family Why Distance?

6 (Why) University Students Don’t Read…

Recruiting Students = 20 7

8 2 students ed me asking if we were going to Denver… 2 students ed me asking if we were going to Denver…

9 Read Pre Conference Pre Quiz Prepare Debrief Conference Post Quiz LAB = Learning Assess Setting up for success

Getting past the Interface 10 LEARNING Sign up Citrix Log In Call Control VI Spectr ometer

Beer’s Law Experiment NANSLO Beer-Lambert Law Lab Activity NANSLO link to demos: –Dr. Branon shows you the spectrometer controls (7 minutes): nce_spectroscopy.html nce_spectroscopy.html 11

Beer’s Law Experiment NANSLO Beer-Lambert Law Lab Activity NANSLO link to demos: –Dr. Branon shows you the spectrometer control (7 minutes): THESE WERE ASSIGNED! All of my interventions were in ADDITION to these materials. 12

13 NANSLO Tutorials

Things I adapted/created 14

Robotics Lab Button 15

Sign up 16

17 Made quickly with Jing (free) < 2.5 min Get Jing at: Sign up - screencast

Sign up 18 Everyone signed up successfully!! Everyone signed up successfully!!

Citrix 2. Install the Citrix Software (you will also get these instructions in your after you sign up at the scheduler): Install Citrix Receiver software on your computer so that you can access the RWSL Control Panel. To install this software, open any browser (Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.) and go to Click the download button and install the Citrix Receiver program. Do not open the Citrix Receiver program after installing it. Your computer is now ready to access the RWSL Control Panel. [See “Installing the Citrix Receiver Program” at for more detailed information on installing the Citrix software.] 19

Citrix 2. Install the Citrix Software (you will also get these instructions in your after you sign up at the scheduler): Install Citrix Receiver software on your computer so that you can access the RWSL Control Panel. To install this software, open any browser (Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.) and go to Click the download button and install the Citrix Receiver program. Do not open the Citrix Receiver program after installing it. Your computer is now ready to access the RWSL Control Panel. [See “Installing the Citrix Receiver Program” at for more detailed information on installing the Citrix software.] 20

Citrix 2. Install the Citrix Software (you will also get these instructions in your after you sign up at the scheduler): Install Citrix Receiver software on your computer so that you can access the RWSL Control Panel. To install this software, open any browser (Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.) and go to Click the download button and install the Citrix Receiver program. Do not open the Citrix Receiver program after installing it. Your computer is now ready to access the RWSL Control Panel. [See “Installing the Citrix Receiver Program” at for more detailed information on installing the Citrix software.] students ed me that Citrix was not working after they tried to open it… 3 students ed me that Citrix was not working after they tried to open it…

Log In You have signed up to take Beer's Law on Wednesday, February 26, :00 AM MST. At that time, you will be able to log in to the remote lab using the following link and credentials: bsessionid=158&userid=584 22

23 Log In

24 Log In

25 Several students did not log in promptly – multiple ‘reasons’ They called Dan with their troubles… Several students did not log in promptly – multiple ‘reasons’ They called Dan with their troubles… Log In

Accessing your lab at the date/time designated: 1… 2… 3… 4… 5. You will be using a voice conferencing line to communicate with other students on your team. As soon as you have access to the RWSL Control Panel, call the toll free number shown on the panel and use the access code to connect to the conference line. 26 Call

27 Dan’s tutorial highlights the call in information Susan tells them in the pre-lab conference Call in!

Call 28 Dan’s tutorial highlights the call in information Susan tells them in the pre-lab conference Call in! A few students do not call in. Lab posts a sign in front of the camera…. A few students do not call in. Lab posts a sign in front of the camera….

Call 29 I did not understand how we were going to communicate once the lab started because nothing explained that at all and then once I logged onto the lab I still didn't get that I had to call the number on the screen to communicate with everyone in the group

Control VI PreLab Quiz: 30 Request Control of VI

Control VI PreLab Quiz: 31 Request Control of VI Students comment that giving and getting control of VI most confusing part of the lab. Students comment that giving and getting control of VI most confusing part of the lab.

32 Spectrometer Controls

Dan’s video walkthrough PLUS Interactive pre lab conference 33

34 Click on the spot in the image below where you will go to check the temperature of the system and select your samples: Click on the button that allows the instrument to establish a baseline with the light off, and subtract out "noise" from your spectrum: Spectrometer Controls “hot spot” questions After we turn the light on, and we select our Reference Sample, some light from our light source will be absorbed by the cuvette and the distilled water (solvent in this case). Before analyzing our samples, what should you click to subtract that part of the spectrum from our desired sample spectrum? To zoom in and zoom out on the sample spectrum I will draw a box with my mouse after clicking on this button:

35 Click on the spot in the image below where you will go to check the temperature of the system and select your samples: Click on the button that allows the instrument to establish a baseline with the light off, and subtract out "noise" from your spectrum: Spectrometer “hot spot” pre-lab questions After we turn the light on, and we select our Reference Sample, some light from our light source will be absorbed by the cuvette and the distilled water (solvent in this case). Before analyzing our samples, what should you click to subtract that part of the spectrum from our desired sample spectrum? To zoom in and zoom out on the sample spectrum I will draw a box with my mouse after clicking on this button: 90% correct 65% correct 70% correct 100% correct

This goes pretty well! Lab staff is able to help with this once students get in 36 Spectrometer Controls

PreLab Conference Mandatory Synchronous Interactive –Learning objectives for the lab –Relevance –Theory –Using instrumentation –Data analysis 37

PreLab Conference

39 [ UC Davishttp://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Quantum_Mechanics/Atomic_Theory/Electrons_in_Atoms/Atomic_Spectra PreLab Conference

40 [ UC Davishttp://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Quantum_Mechanics/Atomic_Theory/Electrons_in_Atoms/Atomic_Spectra 100% correct PreLab Conference

41 Lab Time!!

From figuring out where to click…. …to “we’re just fooling around ” 42 Lab Time!!

43 Post-lab conference

Assessment of Learning – students did very well answering the post-lab questions from the NANSLO Beer’s activity doc Rutgers survey – provided the link again for those who did not take it 44 Post-lab quiz

Should add prep for: Can’t find to log in NEW What is a clipboard? NEW Mac right clicks 45 Interface Lessons Learned:

Probably can’t prevent: Clicking on the Citrix receiver Can’t access system forgot password Using the Demo link to try to access their lab Not calling in on the teleconference 46 Interface Lessons Learned:

like it better than "regular" lab What a great team I had and WOW what a great experiment. Dr. B was our Lab Tech, he was extremely helpful and professional Got done with the lab this morning and it was pretty awesome. Everyone was really good to work with and easy to set up. 47 What students said:

Interesting Well designed Every single thing is explained step by step Really there were no difficulties. I enjoyed it very much. This type of unique "hands on" experience taps into parts of the brain that even person- person labs miss, and solidifies concepts 48 What students said:

Good lab, it was fun controlling robotics. I enjoyed it very much. Very amazing to be able to sit in the comfort of my own home and actually be able to do a lab. 49 What students said:

I It was really interesting being in a lab in Colorado even though I was in Alaska. I would like to see more of these done in further labs. I had so much fun! Our lab tech (Nate) was wonderful and helpful, considering that he was juggling two groups at once. I hope there are future opportunities like this for other classes to enjoy. 50 What students said:

51 Distance education is challenging, and how do you make it both engaging and interactive for your students? I think that this lab is a great example of how to do that. … Furthermore, the lab tech (Dan I wanna say was his name), was very patient, articulate, and professional. He took the time to explain how to tune down the noise in the display, as well as providing a brief and simple explanation of the spectra as well. I think he did a great job. Long story short, overall I think its a great lab and a superb addition to the course. What students said:

I honestly didn't find any part of this lab confusing I enjoyed the experience very much and would do it again 52 What students said:

This was a wonderful opportunity! The experience was fun and interesting, and a bit of a challenge! (In a good way!) A big thank you to the Denver Lab for allowing us to do this experiment!! 53 What students said:

Students said: –Dr. Branon’s video –Pre-lab conf –Data collection with step by step procedure 54 What students said- most helpful:

#1 = getting and releasing control of the equipment (right-click) Other comments on difficulties: –Macs, right click issues –Getting screenshots (due to clipboard terminology I think) –Internet connections 55 What students said- most confusing:

After completing this session we will be able to prepare (almost all) students for a successful NANSLO lab experience 56 Conclusion

In spite of a few small challenges, everyone was able to complete the lab, enjoy it, and learn Share ideas and questions? 57 Lessons Learned