LabNet – Open Laboratory Network
"Don't reinvent the wheel" and "overcome distances" are the two paradigms that underlie the planned, open laboratory network LabNet.
Duration: April 2022 – December 2022
Status: Completed
Educational Level: Special Needs Education, Primary Level, Lower Secondary Level, Upper Secondary Level – Vocational Education, Upper Secondary Level – Grammar School Education, Tertiary Level
Topic: Digital Tools
Keywords: Laboratory Network
Initial Situation
Learning laboratories and, in particular, maker spaces open up new possibilities for inquiry based and creative learning. At the same time, they are resource intensive: they require specialised hardware and software, an appropriate infrastructure, and high investments. Operation is labour intensive, since orientation is needed and devices such as 3D printers operate slowly. Hence throughput of users remains low. For pupils and teachers, participation also involves considerable organisational and time efforts, especially outside urban centres. These conditions make broad and equitable access to such offerings difficult.
Follow-up Project
In the follow-up project LabNet – Application Scenarios, based on LabNet, researchers investigated what expectations and needs users have, what new scenarios arise from a LabNet, and how such a network can be organised in a low-threshold manner.
Objectives
The project sought, through the establishment of a laboratory network (“LabNet”), to pool the potentials of existing learning labs and to develop new application scenarios. The aim was to ease access, avoid duplication, and make the offerings available across locations. Central to the effort were three guiding questions: What expectations and needs do the users have? What new scenarios become possible through a LabNet? And how can such a network be organised in a low threshold manner?
Method
The project was initiated as a BeLEARN booster project and was carried out by researchers from PHBern, BFH and EPFL. To answer the core questions, exploratory approaches were followed, notably participatory workshops with relevant target groups. Two open workshops took place in November 2022, one in French, one in German. Expectations, needs, and possible organisational forms of a LabNet were discussed. In addition, initial scenarios of hybrid communication were developed, such as the live streaming of ongoing equipment or remote access to maker space technologies.
Results
The workshops revealed strong interest in the idea of a LabNet. Users primarily expected an easy, location independent access to devices, infrastructures and experts. New application scenarios were especially seen in hybrid or virtual settings that bridge distances and reduce required presence time to the essential. At the same time, it was emphasised that a LabNet should be designed openly — both for various types of higher education institutions and also for schools, associations and companies. The challenges identified included coordination among institutions, technical implementation and ensuring quality. The discussions also made clear that not all components can be mapped online and that certain aspects still require physical presence.
Implemented Translation
The project results were documented in a results report and discussed in workshops with university staff, students, teachers and other stakeholders. In doing so, the knowledge fed directly back into the practices of the participating institutions. Initial concepts for hybrid LabNet offerings — such as remote maker spaces with video streaming — were elaborated. Thanks to the open design of the project, actors outside universities — for example from schools or associations — could also be engaged. In this way a basis was created to systematically advance the transfer of research findings into educational and innovation practice.
The project has given an important impetus to the networking of learning labs. It raised awareness of the potential of hybrid and distributed learning environments and strengthened exchange between universities and other educational actors. Especially for schools outside central areas, a LabNet offers opportunities for equivalent access to innovative learning offerings. In doing so, the project contributes to the promotion of equal opportunities and lays a foundation for sustainable cooperation across institutional and geographic boundaries. The concepts developed in the project show concrete pathways by which resources can be used more efficiently and learning spaces made more broadly accessible.
