Online Science Labs Developed at FAU Receives Award for Excellence and Innovation.

The FAU Center for Online and Continuing Education (COCE) is the recipient of the Online Learning Consortium Accelerate 2021 Excellence and Innovation in Online Teaching Award for the development of online science labs in collaboration with faculty from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

COCE and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science faculty (Sheryl Van Der Heiden and Dr. Ozlem Yavuz-Petrowski) developed an immersive and interactive solution for participating in science labs in online learning environments. The process was developed to be easily replicated with a relatively small technology investment and no extra expense for students. Input from instructional designers and quality assurance personnel ensure the labs meet the quality standards expected of online learning. In end of course surveys, overwhelmingly students communicated their positive satisfaction with the interactive objects, instruction, and course design for the online science labs.

The award submission focused on the innovative use of technology and effective online pedagogy in the creation of interactive, immersive, online science labs.

"We are proud that this technique is being pioneered at Florida Atlantic University and excited about the collaboration between the FAU Center for Online and Continuing Education (COCE) and instructors within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. This is just the beginning of an ongoing effort to explore the use of next gen technology in online education." Julie Golden Botti, Executive Director of Online and Continuing Education at FAU.

Next month, COCE will be debuting its Faculty Innovation Hub on the Davie Campus of FAU. The Hub will provide a technology sandbox for faculty to explore projects like the immersive online science labs recognized for this award.

The Award was presented to The FAU Center for Online and Continuing Education by the Online Learning Consortium that recognizes outstanding work in the field of online, blended, and digital education through its annual awards programs. The Online Learning Consortium wrote in their announcement "Your exemplary contributions to the field elevate our community's efforts in advancing quality online and blended learning experiences designed to reach all learners. Thank you for this work!"