LabShare: Towards a National Approach to Laboratory Sharing
Files
(Published version)
Date
2009
Authors
Lowe, D.
Murray, S.
Weber, L.
de la Villefromoy, M.
Johnston, A.
Lindsay, E.
Nageswaran, W.
Nafalski, A.
Editors
Kestell, C.
Grainger, S.
Cheung, J.
Grainger, S.
Cheung, J.
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Conference paper
Citation
Proceedings of the 2009 AaeE Conference, 2009 / Kestell, C., Grainger, S., Cheung, J. (ed./s), pp.458-463
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
20th Annual Conference for the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (6 Dec 2009 : Adelaide, Australia)
Abstract
Conventional undergraduate engineering laboratories are valuable in terms of their contributions to students learning but are costly to develop and maintain and have extremely low utilisation rates. These issues can be addressed through cross-institutional sharing of laboratories; however this is limited by the overarching requirement that students are located in a centrally located laboratory. In this paper we describe the nature of the challenges 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 amodel should have.