A survey on the usage of online labs in science education: Challenges and implications

Abstract

To provide teachers and students with more usable, desirable and useful online labs, the foremost step is to understand their existing usage patterns and experiences with such labs. This step was implemented with two online surveys, one targeting teachers and the other students. Altogether 915 respondents from 23 European countries were involved. Results indicate that the prevalence of online labs adoption was generally low and that the users had positive experiences despite some challenges such as difficult access (domain-specific labs) and language barrier (English user interface). Among others, a significant implication is to create a repository (portal) where resources can be used and shared with ease and enjoyability.