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Center for Teaching & Learning: Labster Simulations

Supporting the MCPHS faculty and staff in their commitment to excellence and innovation in teaching and learning

Labster gives students access to a realistic lab experience that will let them perform experiments and practice their skills in a fun and risk-free learning environment.  The University now has an available integration to support the use of Labster's simulations in Blackboard courses.

Technical Requirements

The simulations are accessible online and require memory on your computer, so a reliable internet connection and a computer with at least the following specifications are important:

  • Processor: Dual-core 2 GHz or higher

  • RAM: 4 GB or more

  • Graphics card: Intel HD 3000 / GeForce 6800 GT / Radeon X700 or higher

  • OS: Latest version of Windows (64-bit) or Mac OS or ChromeOS

  • Supported browsers: Latest version of Firefox and Chrome

  • A stable internet connection, same internet capacity as a low-quality YouTube video (500 kbps) - To check your internet speed, please use this link.

  • Steps on how to check your Windows System Information and Mac System Information

iPad Support

The Labster app is available to download in the Apple store to play simulations on iPads.

  • Devices: iPad 5th Gen, iPad Mini 4, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, and newer

  • iOS: iOS 15 or higher

Please note that we do not currently support simulation plays on iPhones or other smartphones. The screen size is typically too small for an optimal experience.

Chromebook Support

Processor: MediaTek 8173C or Intel Celeron Dual-Core N3060 or higher

RAM: 4 GB or more

Graphics card: IMG PowerVR GX6250 / Integrated Intel HD Graphics or higher

OS: Latest version of ChromeOS

To play Labster on lower-end Chromebooks such as Lenovo E100 gen1 and gen2 (and others using the Mediatek Chipset) please head to the Google Play store and download the Labster app (please note: not all simulations are supported in the app)

Check your device:

You can check whether your device meets the minimum system requirements by running this simulation here: https://www.labster.com/try

Please check out the Basic Troubleshooting article if you are having technical issues:

Labster Basic Troubleshooting

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our support team if you have any questions or are in need of assistance.

Contact Labster Support 💻

Webinars

Labster hosts live demonstrations every Wednesday

1–1:30pm ET | 12–12:30pm CT | 10–10:30am PT

Visit https://www.labster.com/webinars/ to register for an upcoming session.

Introducing Labster

Adding Labster to your Blackboard Course

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Log in to Blackboard as an instructor

  2. Go to the course you would like to add content to

  3. Go to the Content Area of your course where you would like to add the Labster content

  4. Make sure edit mode is on (upper right corner)

  5. Click the “Build Content” menu

  6. Select the Labster LTI 1.3 installed tool

  7. Once you click on the tool, a pop-up window will appear within your Blackboard course. You can browse our entire catalog (including all the supplementary resources) within this pop up - click on the name of any simulation to learn more!

  8. Once you find the simulation you wish to add to your course, simply click on the +Add button and the simulation will appear in your course

  9. After you have added the simulation, you will be able to use Blackboard settings to set up everything else for your Labster assignment (Simulation points, Due Date, Launch container, Visibility to students, etc.)

 

Labster Dashboard

  • You also need to add Labster Dashboard to your course to be able to follow your students' progress more closely.

  • You will be adding Labster Dashboard through the Build Content feature following the same guidelines from above 👆

Learn more about Labster Dashboard features:

What information is available on the dashboard?

Labster equips educators with detailed insights into student performance. Once students complete Labster simulations, as an instructor you will have access to the following information:

  • Completion %: The percentage of the simulation that a student has completed

  • Score: This is calculated by taking the number of points the student achieved divided by the total number of possible points. Simulations have a varied number of total points based on the number of quiz questions.

  • Number of Attempts: The number of times a student attempts the simulation

  • Individual responses: Details about how many tries it took to answer each question correctly

  • Time Taken: Total time taken for the student to complete the simulation

Visit Labster's support article to dive a bit deeper into the Dashboard.

Labster FAQs

Visit Labster's extensive FAQ knowledge base to locate answers to frequently asked questions, common troubleshooting tips, and more.

https://help.labster.com/en/

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