Online laboratories and virtual experimentation in higher education from a sociotechnical-pedagogical design perspective

This special issue presents recent work of virtual-, remote- or web-based laboratories in higher education. The special issue shows a large variety of online laboratories with different technical and educational approaches from around the world, all from the fields of technical or engineering education. All included articles describe the design of their online laboratories in the respective specific educational context and use empirical data to showcase the effectiveness or efficiency of the laboratory and the educational value of the laboratory in the respective context. For example, authors answer questions like “Is the laboratory effective, and does the design support learners to reach the intended learning goals of the online laboratory?” The design case studies do not rely on subjective learner views but use quantitative or qualitative research methods such as surveys, interviews, and guided observations to assess, evaluate, or improve the online laboratory design. The articles span domain fields from online laboratories in medical and dental education as well as engineering education to otherwise less discussed fields like the field of aviation. The articles included in this Special Issue demonstrate the considerable diversity in both online laboratory approaches, encompassing technologies and implemented pedagogical approaches, as well as the range of educational research methods employed. Given the varying technical and educational contexts, it is crucial to employ distinct assessment frameworks to evaluate these approaches effectively. In line with this perspective, this editorial aims to not only summarize the Special Issue inclusions but also contribute to the discourse and research on virtual labs by introducing and examining a highly adaptable heuristic-based methodology for evaluating educational settings such as online laboratories.