New Ways for Distributed Remote Web Experiments

Remote Laboratories are widely used in the education of stem subjects. While the first generation of remote labs was based on individually developed local experiments with an integrated web interface, the next generation combined multiple experiments in a remote laboratory management system, making it possible to share whole experiments between institutions. At the same time, with cheap hardware available more and more experiments are conducted by the students at home. The sharing of experiments is already a step towards a more prosperous learning environment. The next step is to collaboratively develop and operate experiments by offering parts of experiments that are coupled over the internet to execute the whole experiment. This form of remotely coupled experiments allows for better collaboration between different institutions and also has benefits within a single institution. By remixing the components, the curriculum can be adapted to changing teaching scenarios, especially when considering that components from other institutions might be used. Also, extensive or expensive apparatuses can be hosted by the institution while more mobile parts are given to the students creating a hybrid take-home lab which is an improvement compared to an all virtual or all remote laboratory in terms of immersion.