Interactive Simulations and Animations for Higher Education
Keywords : Sakshat amrita virtual lab, Online science lab, Virtual laboratories.
The virtual labs project has been funded by the National Mission on Education through ICT by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India and is being developed in partnership with IIT’s and other prominent universities across India. Under the National Mission on Education, over 150 laboratories are being built in various disciplines of engineering and sciences. VALUE Virtual labs uses the most up-to-date subject content and web-based technologies to add a level of interactivity to college level science courses. Based on the national model syllabi, teachers can easily integrate virtual labs into their classrooms.
Through the use of detailed animations, mathematically accurate simulations, and a web browser, students are provided with near hands-on-experiences to a large array of physics, chemistry, and biotechnology experiments, with virtual laboratories being currently developed for Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science.
In addition to the simulated experiments, these virtual learning environments have a number of features that include illustrated theory notes, animations, modeling, interactive quizzes and workbooks, and video lectures that can all be viewed as many times as necessary.
The vision of this project is to provide free and easy access to high quality educational resources to higher education students across India, regardless of whether they are based in geographically remote rural areas or economically challenged backgrounds. The free and open access feature of virtual labs allow sharing of scarce and costly scientific equipment with institutions that are less fortunate, thereby providing the opportunity for students to conduct experiments that they would not otherwise have access to.
With the nationwide launch of virtual labs by the Government of India, students now have anytime anywhere access to an encyclopedia of science and engineering knowledge presented in a way that is engaging, immersive, and enjoyable.
These experiments and labs are hosted for open access through the main project website and at the Virtual Labs university website
