November 21, 2025 - 11:15 AM -12:15 PM
Location: This is an online event. Register to receive the Zoom link and calendar invitation
Intended Audience: Faculty, Instructors, Graduate Student Instructors, Academic Support Staff
If you've ever wanted to give your students access to specialized software or hands-on digital tools, but ran into accessibility, technical, or lab space issues, you're not alone. Many instructors want to assign richer, complex projects with specific hardware and software needs, but the logistics of setup and upkeep get in the way--not to mention, not all students have consistent access to appropriate computer hardware.
The Virtual Computing Lab (VCL) is a powerful and cost-effective teaching resource that allows you to provide students with remote access to standardized, customized computing environments - without requiring a physical lab or personal installations.
Drop into this workshop to learn more about the VCL, see how it can enhance your class, and hear specific use cases from current instructors! Come with questions and teaching challenges, and we will work together to find answers and solutions. Hope to see you there!
This session will run for 45 minutes, with an additional 15 minutes reserved for questions.
➡️Register for this event here!⬅️
Registrants will be sent a Zoom link and bCal invite as the workshop date draws near.
***Registration for this session will close one hour before the session***
Facilitator:
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Natalie Montanez is the Instructional Computer Facility service lead in the Classroom Technology Support team. She has managed both virtual and physical computer lab spaces on campus for over five years. Natalie is a UC Berkeley alum and continues to pay forward her excellent student employment experience by managing the RTL Student Workforce Program. |
Guest Speaker:
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Charlotte D. Smith is a faculty member of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and a Visiting Professor at the Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara – Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO). Her research interests include the microbial ecology and control of waterborne pathogens, and using geospatial statistics to explore the pathway from environmental exposures, including contaminated water, to acute and chronic diseases (e.g., diarrheal and/or kidney disease). Current community-based participatory research in Guadalajara focuses on access to water as a human right under UN Resolution 64-292. Dr. Smith teaches GIS and Spatial Analysis for Health Equity, and Applied GIS for Public Health. In her classroom, where she enjoys mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, she has been an early adopter and advocate of the virtual computing tool to give students powerful ways to learn and explore these classroom concepts for health equity through GIS and spatial analysis. |