15 research outputs found
Cyber-physical laboratories in engineering and science education
No full textThis volume investigates a number of issues needed to develop a modular, effective, versatile, cost effective, pedagogically-embedded, user-friendly, and sustainable online laboratory system that can deliver its true potential in the national and global arenas. This allows individual researchers to develop their own modular systems with a level of creativity and innovation while at the same time ensuring continuing growth by separating the responsibility for creating online laboratories from the responsibility for overseeing the students who use them. The volume first introduces the reader to several system architectures that have proven successful in many online laboratory settings. The following chapters then describe real-life experiences in the area of online laboratories from both technological and educational points of view. The volume further collects experiences and evidence on the effective use of online labs in the context of a diversity of pedagogical issues. It also illustrates successful online laboratories to highlight best practices as case studies and describes the technological design strategies, implementation details, and classroom activities as well as learning from these developments. Finally the volume describes the creation and deployment of commercial products, tools and services for online laboratory development. It also provides an idea about the developments that are on the horizon to support this area
Towards an immersive virtual environment for physics experiments supporting collaborative settings in higher education
No full textLiterature survey on science education suggests the inclusion of interactive exploratory and collaborative learning experiences. However, recent remote laboratories and simulations do not sufficiently support the collaborative component. Thus, this book chapter introduces the development of an immersive virtual environment built on top of OpenWonderland to collaboratively experience remote laboratory experimentation and simulations. Motivated by previous experiences, utilizing iLab-based remote lab and TEAL simulations within MIT’s physics courses, our research project focuses on the enhanced integration of physics phenomena. However, most of the outlined experiences and results are well able to be transferred to other subjects in science education. This book chapter outlines development and findings along the path of our research endeavor so far; it also gives related background knowledge and discusses possible future trends
Use of Internet of Things for Remote Laboratory Settings
No full textIt is vital to provide laboratory activities to maximize learning in STEM disciplines. Traditionally, students perform experiments by being present in a laboratory and working with physical systems. However, when considering the financial involvement, manageability, and accessibility, this arrangement is not always effective. Traditional laboratory classes are scheduled only for a set time period. Given the mixed ability level of students, the allocated time is often not enough for all students to complete their tasks effectively and also achieve intended outcome [1, 2]. Sometimes students like to perform additional experiments beyond their assigned tasks. It is usually difficult to accommodate any extra time due to the lack of available resources to keep the laboratories open. Additionally, laboratory facilities are often inaccessible to the students of other departments within the same institution because of their geographical location. At the same time too much laboratory equipment lies idle during most of its usable lifetime. Only a remote experimentation facility can provide cost effective and unlimited access to experiments and maximize the utilization of available resources [3, 4, 5]. Moreover, this will allow inter-laboratory collaboration among universities and research centers by providing research and student groups access to a wide collection of expensive experimental resources at geographically distant locations
Model-Based Inquiry in Computer-Supported Learning Environments: The Case of Go-Lab
No full textThis chapter focuses on model-based inquiry in computer-supported environments, especially through the use of the Go-Lab platform (www.golabz.eu). Go-Lab is an online learning platform that offers students the opportunity to engage in inquiry-based science learning, in a structured and supportive manner, by providing environments for learning (i.e., Inquiry Learning Spaces), where virtual or remote laboratories and software scaffolds (e.g., tools for generating hypotheses and designing experiments) that support inquiry learning processes have been integrated. The purpose of this chapter is to unravel how the Go-Lab platform, especially some of its virtual laboratories, can be used for model-based learning. In so doing, we discuss core requirements for model-based inquiry in expressing, testing, and revising models. Further, we present three examples of Go-Lab virtual laboratories, with modeling and simulation affordances, to explain how they could be used by educators as means for enacting model-based inquiry.</p
Cyber-physical laboratories in engineering and science education
No full textThis volume investigates a number of issues needed to develop a modular, effective, versatile, cost effective, pedagogically-embedded, user-friendly, and sustainable online laboratory system that can deliver its true potential in the national and global arenas. This allows individual researchers to develop their own modular systems with a level of creativity and innovation while at the same time ensuring continuing growth by separating the responsibility for creating online laboratories from the responsibility for overseeing the students who use them. The volume first introduces the reader to several system architectures that have proven successful in many online laboratory settings. The following chapters then describe real-life experiences in the area of online laboratories from both technological and educational points of view. The volume further collects experiences and evidence on the effective use of online labs in the context of a diversity of pedagogical issues. It also illustrates successful online laboratories to highlight best practices as case studies and describes the technological design strategies, implementation details, and classroom activities as well as learning from these developments. Finally the volume describes the creation and deployment of commercial products, tools and services for online laboratory development. It also provides an idea about the developments that are on the horizon to support this area.</p
Model-based inquiry in computer-supported learning environments: The case of go-lab
No full textThis chapter focuses on model-based inquiry in computer-supported environments, especially through the use of the Go-Lab platform (www.golabz.eu). Go-Lab is an online learning platform that offers students the opportunity to engage in inquiry-based science learning, in a structured and supportive manner, by providing environments for learning (i.e., Inquiry Learning Spaces), where virtual or remote laboratories and software scaffolds (e.g., tools for generating hypotheses and designing experiments) that support inquiry learning processes have been integrated. The purpose of this chapter is to unravel how the Go-Lab platform, especially some of its virtual laboratories, can be used for model-based learning. In so doing, we discuss core requirements for model-based inquiry in expressing, testing, and revising models. Further, we present three examples of Go-Lab virtual laboratories, with modeling and simulation affordances, to explain how they could be used by educators as means for enacting model-based inquiry
Labshare towards cross-institutional laboratory sharing /
No full textConventional undergraduate teaching laboratories are valuable in terms of their contributions to students learning but are generally costly to develop and maintain and often have extremely low overall utilization rates. These issues can be addressed through cross-institutional sharing of laboratories. This is, however, limited by the overarching requirement that students are physically co-located with the laboratory apparatus. In this chapter we will describe the nature of the challenges with regard to cross-institutional sharing and the potential benefits that can be achieved if a solution can be found. A possible solution is the use of remote laboratories that can be accessed across the internet with a suitable model for laboratory sharing that promotes both institutional and individual engagement. We describe the characteristics that such a model should have and show how the Labshare project is providing a nation-wide model within the Australian Higher Education context
