Presented at an Office of Faculty Excellence workshop, this talk describes background and best practices for incorporating East Carolina University's Virtual Computing Lab into instructional experiences.

1. VCL Best practices Lee Toderick, Department of Technology Systems (toderickl@ecu.edu) Tony Miller, ITCS (millerf@ecu.edu)

2. Topics Covered VCL Definitions Apache VCL Details Citrix VCL Details Incorporating VCL into Courses Conclusion and Questions

3. Virtual Computing Lab Providing computing resources without traditional physical lab space

4. Benefits Increases availability to 24/7 Reduces dependence on student owned equipment and software Removes requirement to be on campus Increases equivalence of D/E and on-campus student experience Controls access to software for only actively enrolled terms

5. ECU VCL Options Option 1 – Apache VCL Presented by Lee Toderick Option 2 – Citrix VCL Presented by Tony Miller

6. Apache VCL Reserved computers at your command

7. Apache VCL Overview Reference: https://cwiki.apache.org/VCL/#Index-ConceptualOverview

8. Apache VCL Features Reservations for an entire computer are made for now or future date Reserved computers are delivered in initial “known good” state Students have admin control of computer during their session Reservations that expire cause computer to reload

9. Apache VCL Features Faculty can request one time or repeating scheduled reservations for their class Reduces wait time and allows class to begin work right away

10. Apache VCL Features Because Apache VCL reserved computers are trusted ECU machines, students can access network resources not otherwise available Ex: Apache VCL reserved computers can directly access Pirate Drive

11. Apache VCL Labs (several)

12. Apache VCL Lab NSF/HP Grant

13. Apache VCL Statistics Data collected August 24, 2010 – March 18, 2011

14. Apache VCL Computer Access Reservation for Microsoft Windows Use an RDP Client to show remote desktop (Optional: Use a VNC Client to access remote desktop) Reservation for Linux Use an SSH Client to access remote command line Use a VNC Client to access remote desktop All clients are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices

15. Apache VCL File Saving Reservation for Microsoft Windows User can access Pirate Drive as U: drive using desktop application Reservation for Linux User can mount Pirate Drive into their current file system

16. Apache VCL File Submission Send files as e-mail attachments Set Pirate Drive permissions to allow faculty to view files Use faculty designated persistent storage Use reserved computer’s web browser to upload to Blackboard / Moodle **New for ICTN4800, Fall 2010- student-initiated automated grading and feedback!

17. Apache VCL Persistent Storage Faculty can request additional storage for their classes Faculty control their space and can create their own folder structure and file permissions

18. Citrix VCL Individual Applications Delivered On Demand

19. Citrix VCL Features Users use web browser with plugin to access Citrix VCL portal Users choose application and click link to activate Citrix web plugin is used to deliver application to users

20. Citrix VCL Features Web plugin is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices Web plugin allows access to local computer storage (if user desires) Web plugin allows access to local printers

21. Citrix VCL Features Because Citrix VCL servers are trusted ECU machines, students can access network resources not otherwise available Ex: Microsoft SQL Server instance

22. Citrix VCL Statistics Data collected August 24, 2010 – March 18, 2011

23. Citrix VCL File Saving Citrix web plugin prompts for access to local disks Servers have Pirate Drive automatically available

24. Citrix VCL File Submission Local files -> No different than usual submission policy

25. Incorporating VCL into courses What Now?

26. VCL Integration Steps Determine software package information Obtain software Determine audience restriction (if any) Make VCL software request Test software in VCL Prepare course specific instructions

27. Determine Package Information Operating system requirements Vendor information Software license information Free? / Commercial? Not all software vendors allow virtualized software ITCS assists with licensing details

28. Obtain Software Need to provide media or files to ITCS VCL team Freely downloadable software only requires a pointer to download method

29. Determine Audience Restriction Individual student(s)? One section? One course? One department? One college? No restriction - easiest

30. Make VCL Software Request Choose one of: E-mail vcl_help@ecu.edu with proposed software Submit a Virtual Computing Lab Image request via http://ithelp.ecu.edu

31. VCL Documentation Detailed information Apache VCL Citrix VCL Printable Adobe Acrobat documents Via ITCS Learning Center

32. VCL Resources VCL web site http://vcl.ecu.edu VCL e-mail vcl_help@ecu.edu IT Help Desk http://help.ecu.edu

33. Checklist for Help E-mail / Ticket What VCL am I using? What operating system am I using? What web browser am I using? What software / image am I using? What am I trying to do?

34. Course Repetition VCL software remains in place unless removal requested

35. Conclusion and Questions VCL / Citrix is EXTREMELY flexible! ITCS support team is responsive (sense of urgency)! Labs are scalable from a few students to a hundred students! QUESTIONS???

36. Contact Information Lee Toderick (toderickl@ecu.edu) Tony Miller (millerf@ecu.edu)