Synchronous remote participation

Remote access to in-lab equipment can be achieved in one of two ways. Firstly, through live demonstration, where a member of staff hosts an interactive session within the experimental facility and broadcasts this to students. Methods for capturing and distributing video, audio and/or data are required. Consideration also needs to be given to managing triage of queries and questions, and queuing of students wishing to communicate with staff or the whole group. However, technology for these tasks is well established and available at most HE institutes for staff use.

An alternative strategy for delivering synchronous remote participation is the use of telemetry for actuation of equipment and measurement of the result. Depending on the amount of physical movement, the ability to operate the equipment remotely may be provided within its normal capability, or it may be necessary to retrofit components to create this functionality. The increasing prevalence of IoT devices opens opportunities to control and sense using relatively inexpensive products. However, technological solutions for scheduling and networking will be required, to allow students to access the control of the equipment at specific times. This could mean that limited amounts of equipment are required, as they can be accessed over an extended time period, rather than a fixed lab session.

Inherently synchronous delivery has all the advantages associated with creating an event attended by a community of peers learning together. Staff and teaching assistance can be available “live” to provide instantaneous feedback as required. Synchronicity also allows the retention of systems put in place for in-lab activities, to imply parity with remote equivalents. For example, MEE required the completion of an online, pre-lab activity before students could commence any in-lab activity, to ensure students were safe and prepared. While these requirements can be placed on asynchronous activity, the concept of tasks to complete before the event is, to a certain extent, diluted with an ill-defined start time.