Information Technology Solutions (ITS) has announced UCR’s latest virtual computer lab (VLab) service run through Apporto. The VLab gives students access to common classroom software that they may not have access to given the campus closures and will be available following the closures as well. A campuswide email sent on Wednesday, April 8, lists all software that is currently available through the VLab including various graphics processing unit (GPU) and remote desktop services (RDS) applications such as Microsoft Office 2019, ArcGIS Pro, EViews 11, IBM SPSS Statistics 26 and RStudio. The service is funded by the Student Technology Fee which charges undergraduate students $4.00 per unit.
In an interview with The Highlander, Alexandra Chrystal, the communications and training manager for ITS wrote that the new VLab is a major improvement from the previous one. The former VLab, which could be accessed through VMware Horizon View Client, was running on old hardware and software that was not capable of supporting newer software titles that are currently being used for instruction. “The old VLab was not scalable enough to grow with campus needs,” stated Chrystal.
Chrystal stated that this had been in the works since before the campus closure, however, with the abrupt shift to virtual teaching and learning the project was prioritized and expedited by ITS staff to assist students as soon as possible.
The selection of software available through the VLab consists mainly of data collecting and computing softwares which reflects what is currently required by various disciplines on campus as well as recommended by the UC Office of the President (UCOP). While the current applications reflect what UCR currently has enterprise license agreements with, Chrystal wrote, “we hope the benefits of this new offering will interest faculty and Department Chairs in working with us to extend the catalog.” She also mentioned that ITS is currently looking into making Adobe Creative Cloud available to students as well.
To access the VLab students need to visit http://ucr.apporto.com/ and log in using their UCR NetID.
