By April 2020, due to the spread of COVID-19, almost all OPCN colleges had transferred to a remote operation to ensure the safety of their students and co-workers. From multiple discussions with our instructors from many colleges, we learned that they all had one common challenge – there were no solutions for the hands-on practice, which is traditionally facilitated in college laboratories with specialized parts, devices, and instrumentation.

LASER-TEC has partnered with NSF ATE program to provide a free Light and Optics Experiment Kit (LOEK) to all OPCN students for home use. To provide financial support for this project, the Center has applied and received a supplemental award from the NSF ATE Program.

During the spring months, we mailed the kits mailed directly to students’ home addresses. In the fall, due to the uncertainty of enrollment, many faculty preferred the kits to be shipped to colleges.

ABOUT THE LIGHT AND OPTICS EXPERIMENT KIT
The Light and Optics Experiment kit supports the majority of experiments in the textbook Fundamentals of Light and Lasers and allows students to complete laboratories in beginner Photonics courses from the safety of their homes. It covers topics in geometrical optics, wave optics, and the fundamentals of lasers.
Each kit includes the Experiment Book which includes 23 laboratories and provides step-by-step student guidance in their experiment-based investigation of optics and lasers.

The detailed information about the upgraded Light and Optics Experiment Kit is provided on this webpage.
The Center has also developed instructional videos that guide students through the experiments supported by the kit. These videos are available on LASER-TEC’s YouTube channel

RESULTS
Since April 2020, we have assembled and distributed 220 kits to 14 educational institutions to sustain the hands-on student leaning when face-to-face lab work became unavailable. The Center has since received positive comments and feedback from the OPCN faculty and students, which we included on this page

Faculty feedback
“This semester I am the instructor of the Fundamentals of Light and Lasers course, part of our Associate Degree in Engineering Technology in Photonics & Lasers at Universidad Ana G Mendez, Cupey campus. Quarantine in Puerto Rico due to the COVID-19 pandemic started March 15. We had only done three of our labs, in a course where we usually do 10-11 labs. The Light & Optics Experiment Kit by LASER-TEC afforded my students the opportunity to continue with our labs in a safe way, maintaining social distancing. Moreover, students have been able to play with them at home (what better way to learn?). By the end of the semester we will have done experiments 4, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 and 21. As academic director of the Puerto Rico Photonics Institute, I am very grateful to Laser-Tec for this material.” Dr. Andres Diaz (town of Manati, Puerto Rico), the Puerto Rico Photonics Institute.

“When we were notified that we would not be allowed on Campus for Spring quarter and we would have to teach our classes online I had no idea how I would be able to give my students the equivalent of hands-on learning with videos and simulations. Fortunately, LASER-TEC and the NSF came to the rescue. Each of my students were given a LASER-TEC Light & Optics Experiment Kit, delivered to their home. Since then they have done experiments on the Laser Safety, the Law of Reflection, the Law of Refraction, Finding the Speed of Light in an Acrylic Block, Total Internal Reflection, Laser Beam Steering, and Optical Filters. We will be back on Campus doing labs in small groups starting next week. Without these kits we would have so 15 much to make up I am not sure we would get it done before the end of the quarter. Thank you, LASER-TEC and NSF.” Judy Irvin, Spokane Community College.

“I can’t thank you enough for the help you provided us. We were extremely concerned about having students enrolled in a college program – by definition – a hands on skills building program, and not be able to offer them the hands-on experience. Having the kit that you put together definitely saved our program and it allowed us to provide the critical hands on experience to our students. And I tell my students all the time – I actually strongly believe that this experience actually makes them even better problem solvers and independent thinkers because they have 24h access to the kit and they can play with it, try different things, make all kind of observations. They have opportunities that were not there when one has 2h access to the lab equipment. I am actually hopeful about some advantages of this format in terms of encouraging independent and self-driven scientific exploration. That being said – definitely – I have students that struggle in this format. As educators – all the things that we tried to highlight about the challenges of online teaching – became true: kids that don’t have access to technology being left even more behind, shy kids that have difficulty asking for help – struggling even more and becoming discouraged …. It definitely is a new world for teaching with new challenges. Thank you again to everyone that made the Light and Optics Experimental kit possible.” Cristina Simionescu, Niagara College.

Student feedback
“It has been a unique and fun experience, and I like doing the labs. Being under quarantine, I have been able to experiment with the laser and the other components. It has been a cool opportunity.” Luis Morales, student of Photonics Institute of Puerto Rico, Engineering Technology in Photonics & Lasers at Universidad (town of Aibonito, Puerto Rico)
“I am extremely grateful with LASER-TEC for the Experiment Kit. I have been able to do the labs safely in the comfort of my home. And, very importantly, the experiments are very interesting. ”Hernan Molina, student of Photonics Institute of Puerto Rico, Engineering Technology in Photonics & Lasers at Universidad (town of Dorado, Puerto Rico)

Student Video feedback
Students from several OPCN colleges have also shared their appreciations via video clips: