An analysis of the provision of context within existing remote laboratories

Laboratory work is a well-accepted component of science and engineering programs. One emerging trend has been the increasing utilisation of remotely accessed laboratories, where the students can remotely monitor and/or control physical apparatus, typically across the internet. This supports greater flexibility of access for students as well as the possibility of sharing of facilities between institutions. One additional benefit is greater flexibility in designing the learning context within which the laboratory can be positioned. As the interaction is computer mediated, it becomes simpler to modify this interface and hence change the laboratory context. Research has shown that context can have a significant effect on learning outcomes, students' retention of information, engagement with learning and on knowledge transfer from one domain to another (see, for example, [1],[2]). Despite this there has been little consideration given to understanding contextual information provided in laboratories in general and remote laboratories in particular. In this paper we report on an analysis of contextual information provided within remote laboratories. Consideration is given to the ways in which the contextual information provides a connection between the real-world concepts being explored and the laboratory as a proxy for those concepts. The analysis shows that there is a diverse range of approaches and representational forms and suggests a new taxonomy that may be useful in describing the context found in laboratory activities for future analysis and design.