Abstract
Laboratory classes are an integral part of undergraduate engineering education, providing a valuable alternative to lectures and tutorials. Recently there has been a trend towards providing these laboratory classes through remote access-where the students are separated from the hardware and interact through a technology-mediated interface. This trend is driven by a demand to provide increased flexibility and opportunities in the delivery of laboratory classes to students, but it has the unintended consequence of affecting the learning outcomes for students in the laboratory class. Remote laboratories are characterised by two key factors-a separation, both physical and psychological, between the students and the laboratory hardware; and a technologymediated interface that is used to close this distance. Both of these factors have been shown in the literature to affect the way in which students learn, changing the contexts in which they construct their knowledge. The impact of these factors is such that remote laboratory classes are not simply a logistical alternative to in-person laboratories-rather, they are a pedagogically different learning experience, and they must be acknowledged as such.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 772-779 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | International Journal of Engineering Education |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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A different kind of difference : Theoretical implications of using technology to overcome separation in remote laboratories. / Lindsay, Euan; Naidu, Som; Good, Malcolm.
In: International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 23, No. 4, 2007, p. 772-779.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - A different kind of difference
T2 - Theoretical implications of using technology to overcome separation in remote laboratories
AU - Lindsay, Euan
AU - Naidu, Som
AU - Good, Malcolm
N1 - Imported on 12 Apr 2017 - DigiTool details were: Journal title (773t) = International Journal of Engineering Education. ISSNs: 0949-149X;
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Laboratory classes are an integral part of undergraduate engineering education, providing a valuable alternative to lectures and tutorials. Recently there has been a trend towards providing these laboratory classes through remote access-where the students are separated from the hardware and interact through a technology-mediated interface. This trend is driven by a demand to provide increased flexibility and opportunities in the delivery of laboratory classes to students, but it has the unintended consequence of affecting the learning outcomes for students in the laboratory class. Remote laboratories are characterised by two key factors-a separation, both physical and psychological, between the students and the laboratory hardware; and a technologymediated interface that is used to close this distance. Both of these factors have been shown in the literature to affect the way in which students learn, changing the contexts in which they construct their knowledge. The impact of these factors is such that remote laboratory classes are not simply a logistical alternative to in-person laboratories-rather, they are a pedagogically different learning experience, and they must be acknowledged as such.
AB - Laboratory classes are an integral part of undergraduate engineering education, providing a valuable alternative to lectures and tutorials. Recently there has been a trend towards providing these laboratory classes through remote access-where the students are separated from the hardware and interact through a technology-mediated interface. This trend is driven by a demand to provide increased flexibility and opportunities in the delivery of laboratory classes to students, but it has the unintended consequence of affecting the learning outcomes for students in the laboratory class. Remote laboratories are characterised by two key factors-a separation, both physical and psychological, between the students and the laboratory hardware; and a technologymediated interface that is used to close this distance. Both of these factors have been shown in the literature to affect the way in which students learn, changing the contexts in which they construct their knowledge. The impact of these factors is such that remote laboratory classes are not simply a logistical alternative to in-person laboratories-rather, they are a pedagogically different learning experience, and they must be acknowledged as such.
KW - Evaluation
KW - Media
KW - Presence
KW - Remote laboratories
KW - Transactional distance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548623071&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34548623071&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
VL - 23
SP - 772
EP - 779
JO - International Journal of Engineering Education
JF - International Journal of Engineering Education
SN - 0949-149X
IS - 4
ER -