From anywhere in Costa Rica and the world, a student or teacher will be able to carry out science internships from home, without having to travel. You only need one click to connect with the remote experimentation laboratories of the UNED, unique in Central America and available to colleges and universities inside and outside the country.
Upon entering the laboratory interface, after the initial registration, the user will be able to manipulate the equipment and perform chemical practices on acid-base theories, as if they were in the Research, Innovation and Development (R&D) building, located at the Fernando Volio Jimenez university campus, in Mercedes de Montes de Oca.
“The UNED Research System has the objective of contributing to the improvement of science teaching. In this sense, remote laboratories have made a fundamental contribution to the academic offer of our country. This has been possible thanks to the investment that the institution made, both in human talent and in equipment with remote laboratories”, stated the Vice-Rector for Research at UNED, Rosibel Víquez Abarca.
She added that these laboratories are “also a response to the young population and a proposal to excite them and make them interested in the study of science, in this case through the incorporation of technological innovations.”
These labs can be used by high school and college students such as Engineering, Agronomy, Basic Sciences, and Science Teaching. For this, manuals have been prepared in Spanish, English and Portuguese, as well as audiovisuals that facilitate their use for students and teachers.
“Today the UNED stands out in the world of remote laboratories. We start with VISIR (Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality) and the practices: inclined plane and electrical panel. Now, we are venturing into the teaching of science in an integral way. With these resources we are demonstrating that scientific rigor can be achieved with this type of laboratory. In this sense, adequate work is required from the teaching staff, in order to validate our pedagogical model from a distance”, commented Carlos Arguedas Matarrita, coordinator of the Remote Experimentation Laboratory.
In the progress of this experience, the Vice-rectory for Research and the Laboratory Program of the UNED had the collaboration of LabsLand, a company that develops and shares real laboratories through the Internet, allowing a potential global use of the resource.
In this way, UNED is becoming a pioneer in the design of chemistry experiments in Costa Rica and worldwide. Proof is the use of this laboratory by the University of Buenos Aires, where more than a thousand uses have been reached during the last week. To use the laboratories, national and international secondary education institutions and universities should write to the email: [email protected].
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