Rise and Fall of remote labs: or perhaps not?

Abstract

Offering Internet access to laboratory workbenches became trendy in the early years of the last decade [1,2]. Remote labs, in opposition to real labs, are frequently regarded as an extension of e-learning platforms, offering the advantages of online access to an area where educational practices remained largely unchanged since pree-learning times. This vision has frequently led many technology enthusiasts to jump ahead of pedagogical concerns, and explains why it is possible to find many remote labs that offer little or no added value to the teaching and learning process [3:5]. This paper proposes a simple framework to compare remote labs to their main competitors in terms of educational value (real labs, simulation), and offers the authors views concerning their relative pros and cons for a selected subset of criteria. The paper closes with recommendations for repositioning remote labs in a brand new world of emerging educational technologies and changing educational paradigms.