DVC is synchronous, two-way audio, video communication over the internet. DVC is inexpensive and easy to set up. The goal of this project was to integrate DVC technology into the laboratory experience and to provide students with the experience of working together in a group, rather than working independently. Participation in the project was mandatory for the laboratory portion of the course. Students were expected to spend about ten hours outside of lab working on the project as a team.
Most students view lab as a block of time set aside once a week to perform an experiment.
Very few students make the connection that laboratory investigations are designed to expose them to scientific concepts, scientific processes, critical thinking, and serve as a reinforcement for material presented in lecture. Instead of practicing science only in the laboratory, students will practice science with others outside the college community. Using Hypertext Markup Language, student groups will create web pages containing at least five hyperlinks and three images. Most courses require some form of writing or a presentation of a topic related to the course. Conducting a 'live' presentation via video camera will add an interactive dimension to the presentation.