The development of a way to teach distance education medical science students  how to study normal and diseased human tissue with a virtual microscope has landed a teaching award for a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic. Dr Lucy Webster, from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, has been awarded the 2011 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. “The most important teaching strategies I employ to inspire and motivate students to learn include creation of interactive and engaging resources and demonstrating a true passion and expert knowledge in my field,” said Dr Webster. “Virtual microscopy enables the digital reproduction of glass slides containing healthy and diseased human tissues. Students are able to view and manipulate these images at remote locations. I combined this technology with the University’s real-time virtual classroom known as Wimba to allow genuine interaction between myself and the students to discuss the important features on each slide without having to be in the same room. Before this initiative, internal and distance education students could only view slides during practical classes or residential schools.”