Arizona Western College is excited to announce the addition of 6 Biopac Systems and laptops to the Biology Department. The faculty in the Biology Department presently teach 23 Anatomy and Physiology classes a year at the College. Lab experiments and demonstrations are difficult to accomplish without the proper tools. Biopac offers students opportunities to learn physiological concepts with tools that provide real results.
John King, Professor of Biology at AWC says “The biology faculty is very excited about using this new technology in the classroom. The acquisition of these Biopacs elevates our anatomy and physiology program to a level that would be seen in a major university. The timing is also fortunate as it coincides with the opening of our new science building.”
Biopac is a software/hardware system that enables students to study the respiratory, circulatory, muscular, neural and other systems by conducting experiments on themselves. The students take in the data, analyze it and associate it to what they learned in lecture. Biopacs are used in schools that teach physiology including community colleges, universities and medical schools.
There is no tool like a Biopac System that can integrate the dynamics of a laboratory environment, the technology of their software, the collection of data, and have it relate so well to the concepts of physiological mechanisms of the body.
King contributes the acquisition of the Biopacks to the hard work of the AWC staff and faculty; “The Biology Department wishes to thank Jana Moore, Associate Dean of Distance Learning, with Title V for the funding of the 6 Biopacs and laptops. Others at the College that made this possible include Cesar Sanchez, Mary Rhona Francoeur, Don Riney, Carol Rinehart and Stacey Lopez.” Moore explained that “Since the grants have worked to put courses, including sciences online, we wanted to enhance the in person lab portion of the classes so students get maximum benefit. It was a perfect fit for the Title V project.”
