California Community Colleges Expand Student Access to IT Training Using NETLAB+

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Sept. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In a statewide effort, California Community Colleges are rapidly expanding the use of NETLAB+ to give students round-the-clock access to Career Technical Education (CTE) training and virtual labs. Nearly 50 colleges are using the virtual lab system for courses that prepare students for jobs in IT. A regional sharing model enables participating colleges to offer courses that support training for Certifications from the industry's most recognized providers like Cisco, CompTIA and VMware.

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In a recent interview, Jim Cosentino, Administrator for the Northern Region's shared NETLAB+ hub describes what it took to install the system containing more than 1,400 virtual computers. He also explains why the use of NETLAB+ is growing among the 113-college system.

"NETLAB+ gives colleges the ability to do remote labs with equipment they don't typically have," said Cosentino. "The lab setups are made up of one to eight virtual computers called a pod. This is not something easy to do in a physical lab on campus. The ability to offer a multitude of classes without each campus investing in expensive lab equipment is a major benefit of using a virtual lab system."

Instructors receive training on how to use NETLAB+ and easily access virtual lab equipment and curriculum for classes installed on the system. In the first eight months of usage, nearly 15 instructors in the Northern Region taught classes using NETLAB+ and the demand for courses is growing. The Bay Area Community College Consortium also hosts a NETLAB+ hub which services the area's 28 community colleges. Click here to read the full interview.

NETLAB+ is a product of Network Development Group (NDG), a company that combines business and passion for educational empowerment for students by providing many cost effective and free services. Funding for NETLAB+ at the California Community Colleges comes from many sources, and grant support is provided by the Information Communication Technologies and Digital Media Sector, part of the California Community Colleges Doing What Matters program. The ICT Sector team developed and promotes a NETLAB+ User Group to help faculty use and write grants for the system.

Contact:
Steve Wright
Sector Navigator
Information Communication Technologies and Digital Media
California Community Colleges
(805) 496-8583
Email
http://ict-dm.net

SOURCE California Community Colleges