Rhodes faculty toured the newly unveiled mobile lab Tuesday and brainstormed potential ideas for use this upcoming year.
Elijah Knodell/The Lima News
LIMA — Rhodes State College unveiled its new mobile lab Tuesday, taking cutting-edge and industry-leading technology on the road and improving access to educational opportunities in rural and underserved communities.
The new “Rhodes in Motion” lab is a 39-foot long converted motor coach packed with the “highest state of the art technology you can possibly imagine,” according to Angela Heaton, Dean of Health, Sciences and Public Service at Rhodes. This includes a virtual cadaver, a touch screen wall, industrial robots, virtual reality computers, iPads, soil sample collection equipment and more. It is equipped to host classes and labs and is especially focused on three technical program areas: health care, agriculture and advanced manufacturing.
The mobility of the lab means Rhodes can bring these innovative tools almost anywhere, from area schools and businesses to rural fields, improving outreach to the college’s ten-county area, according to Heaton.
“It was really developed out of the pandemic,” Heaton said, “so that we could bring education to rural communities… It is designed for Hyflex technology, which means that a student could be remotely in a classroom or at home and participate synchronously.” According to a press release, the Hyflex technology will serve approximately 2,000 students per semester, allowing online students to interact with their instructor and peers in real time.
The project was funded by an Institutional Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which totaled $1.7 million. The IREPO program is aimed at helping education institutions emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic more resilient and expanding educational opportunities for students.
Cynthia Spiers, President of Rhodes State, said in a press release that she was “ecstatic” about receiving the IREPO grant, as it is “the second largest grant the institution has received.”
Heaton added that she hopes the increased exposure to technology will inspire students to further their education and pursue careers in STEM fields.
“We’re bringing education directly to them, so we’re meeting them in their needs, where they are, and bringing that technology to their fingertips… And this awareness of all the new technology is going to the high schools that perhaps don’t even know that it exists. And then enticing students to go into the STEM fields at Rhodes State College,” Heaton said.
The mobile lab is being put into action quickly, with events scheduled for use already later this month. High school partners and community businesses looking to learn more about what the mobile lab has to offer can visit Rhodes State’s website to request more information.
