CSUEB pilots groundbreaking virtual computer lab

• February 21, 2011 5:00am

Cal State East Bay is one of the first CSU campuses to pilot a groundbreaking virtual computing lab. This new type of "lab" will allow students to use expensive, memory-intesive software like Mathematica or Adobe Illustrator as though the programs were running on their own computer hard drives rather than a virtual "cloud."

In his article for Inside Higher Education, reporter Steve Kolowich explains that virtual computing labs are a web-based center where students go to use complex programs from their personal computers without having to purchase and install expensive software…Virtual computing labs work in basically the same way as Facebook except the programs are oriented to coursework and run on college-owned servers. Read article.

Cal State East Bay could save significantly by having to add capacity to its virtual lab rather than a physical ones.  Lee Thompson, CSUEB deputy chief information officer said, “We’re looking to build for the future, not for the past.” 

Click to visit CSUEB Virtual Computing Labs (VCL).

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