#1 - You are not alone. Reach out to your campus support and resource teams such as your LMS admins, librarians/learning resource specialists, technology training team, [etc]. They will know of current tools in use, help vet new tools, and connect you with content for your lab. 

#2 - Remember your professional organizations. Some of these organizations have resources and simulations that may be useful. 

#3 - It doesn’t just impact your class; it provides an opportunity for career readiness. Professional labs are also working to make their labs smart and/or virtual. Students having access to virtual labs such as JoVE, Labster, or Visible Body could help prepare them for future work. 

#4 - Coming together on common goals can build community. There is no doubt a shutdown can make faculty feel isolated and alone in their challenges! Consider using your online meeting platform of choice to bring faculty together to discuss their challenges and ideas in finding solutions.  

#5 - Empower and support a community of practice. Bringing together multidiscipline subject matter experts, practitioners, and learning designers to discuss instructional challenges and collaborate on solutions can be done quickly and effectively.

#6 - Be stubborn about your learning objective. At the forefront of most professors’ minds is that the content needs to match the content of the learning objectives. With so many possibilities (videos, virtual labs, and take-home labs), the level of the lab should also meet the level of the learning objective. There are many great options out there, it’s just a matter of finding the right ones that meet your specific learning objectives. 

#7 - …and be flexible on everything else. Things do not always run perfectly smoothly in the lab, so why would they at home? When possible, you may want to provide your students (and yourself) with contingency plans, grace, options, and flexibility. Being nimble and flexible is more important than being perfect. 

#8 - Sometimes less [tech] is more. Chances are you have in-person faculty who are less comfortable with technology. Focus on learning objectives and outcomes, then look for simple ways to accomplish those objectives using tools they prefer. 

Thank you to Bryan Biggers (Palm Beach Atlantic University), Christine Brown (University of South Florida), Debra Sheridan-Brinkman (Miami Dade College), and Vicki Westergard (St. Petersburg College) for the above tips. They presented at the FLVC-IDN Webinar on Strategies for Online and Remote Lab Courses. To learn additional strategies, please view the recorded webinar.