During a substantial part of their time young people of today actually live in a virtual world. The medial evolution has also influenced education and today much research work basically concerns the transfer of the physical world into the virtual one. One example is laboratories in physical science that are available in virtual rooms. They enable studentsto sit at home in front of a computer and on screen watch and operate the physical equipment in the laboratory at school. It is a general agreement that laboratory lessons are necessary in subjects such as physics, chemistry and biology. Physical experiments provide a great way for students to learn more about nature and its possibilities as well as limitations. Experimental work can be provided bylaboratories in three different categories; 1) hands-on, 2) remote and 3) simulated. This thesis concerns the usage of remotely controlled laboratories in physics education at an upper secondary school. It is based on work carried out in a joint project between Katedralskolan (upper secondary school), Lund, Sweden, and Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH). The object with this project is to investigate feasibility of using the VISIR (Virtual Instruments System in Reality) technology for remotely controlled laboratories, developed at BTH, in upper secondary schools. This thesis consists of an introduction, followed by three parts where the first part concerns the introduction of the remote lab to students and the usage of the remote lab by students at the upper secondary school, Katedralskolan. Both first year students and third year students carried out experiments using the remote lab. The second part concerns activities carried out by 2 teachers and 94 students using the remote laboratory VISIR. An integration of VISIR with the learning management system used at school is described. Teaching activities carried out by teachers at Katedralskolan involving the VISIR lab are discussed, e.g., an exam including problems of experimental work using the VISIR lab and an example of a student report. Survey results on student satisfaction with the VISIR lab at BTH and the perception of it are presented, indicating that VISIR is a good learning tool. Furthermore, the survey resulted in a proposal of improvements in the VISIR lab user interface. Finally, the third part focuses on enhancements of the VISIR lab at BTH. An improved version in the VISIR user interface is presented. New iPad and smart phone availability of the VISIR lab is presented. Electronic experiments for upper secondary school students are described in detail and examples of suitable configurations are given. A new VISIR acoustic lab has beenimplemented and initial experimentation by upper secondary school students have been carried out. The outcomes from these experiments are discussed.

During a substantial part of their time young people of today live in an online world. The medial evolution has also influenced education and today much research work concerns the transfer of the physical world into the online one. One example is laboratories in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education that are available in online rooms. They enable students to be at home in front of a computer and on-screen watch and operate the physical equipment in the laboratory at school. 

It is a general agreement that laboratory lessons are necessary in subjects such as physics, chemistry and biology. Physical experiments provide a great way for students to learn more about nature and its possibilities as well as limitations. Experimental work can be provided by laboratories in three different categories; 1) hands-on, 2) remote and 3) simulated.

This thesis addresses how to implement remote laboratories as a teaching methodology. It presents examples of upper secondary school students’ experimental work and their evaluation of remote laboratories regarding usability, sense of reality and technical problems. 

In order to gain a better understanding of the situation and needs regarding laboratory activities in an upper secondary school, eight physics teachers were interviewed at six different schools. Furthermore, 165 upper secondary school students answered a questionnaire survey regarding subject preferences, program choices, views on technology and self-ability, and their approach to technology and technology-related situations. This thesis also describes another education approach where academia, industry, and research institutes cooperate around the development and implementation of master level courses. The pedagogical approach utilized in these master level courses has been flipped classroom.

In this thesis, the usage of remotely controlled laboratories in physics education at an upper secondary school and a university are addressed. The main objective of this project is to investigate the feasibility of using the Virtual Instruments System in Reality (VISIR) technology for remotely controlled laboratories, developed at Blekinge Institute of Technology, in upper secondary schools. The laboratory setup can be shared and utilized almost 24/7, thus reducing the associated costs and eliminating time restrictions.

This paper describes a remote implementation of Galileos inclined plane experiment, focused on secondary school students. A remotely controlled inclined plane has been designed and implemented in the VISIR lab at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Sweden. In this demo session, it will be demonstrated how to perform measurements remotely in the remotely controlled Inclined Plane Laboratory. A web camera is used to show the experiment. Data concerning the distance a cube has slided down the inclined plane are collected. These data are stored in a file and can subsequently be analyzed by the students. The friction acting on the cube sliding down the inclined plane and its acceleration may for instance be investigated.

The use of remote laboratories in courses at university level has been reported in literature numerous times since the mid 90?s. In this article focus is on activities carried out by teachers and students, at the Upper Secondary School Level, using the remote laboratory VISIR (Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality). The Upper Secondary School, Katedralskolan in Lund, Sweden, cooperate with Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, in a project that concerns the introduction of remote laboratory environment suitable for Upper Secondary School science courses. A remote laboratory in electronics has been introduced and is used as a complement to the traditional workbench in the hands-on laboratory. Significant results from the project are; 1) the great interest shown by the students for the remote experiments, 2) the students appreciation for the fact that it was not simulations but actual real experiments, 3) the remote laboratory is easy to implement for use by both teachers and students and 4) it can be used simultaneously by many students.

The educational phenomena studied in this paper is remote-controlled physical laboratory environments and their applicability in upper secondary school physics education. In order to gain a better understanding of the situation and needs regarding laboratory activities in the upper secondary school, eight physics teachers were interviewed at six different schools. This revealed that the resources for laboratory activities vary between schools and may be inconsistent with the Swedish National Agency for Education curriculum. Furthermore, 165 upper secondary school students answered a questionnaire survey regarding subject preferences, program choices, views on technology and self-ability, and approach to technology and technology-related situations. The acquired knowledge provides a basis concerning the needs and conditions of teaching and learning within the subject of physics. This new knowledge motivates the development of the Flipped laboratory concept that is introduced in this paper, based on remote-controlled physical laboratories, for upper secondary school. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The manufacturing industry are dependent of engineering expertise. Currently the ability to supply the industry with engineering graduates and staff that have an up-to-date and relevant competences might be considered as a challenge for the society. In this paper an education approach is presented where academia - industry - research institutes cooperate around the development and implementation of master level courses. The methods applied to reach the educational goals, concerning expert competence within remote diagnostics, have been on site and remote lectures given by engineering, medical and metrology experts. The pedagogical approach utilized has been flipped classroom. The main results show that academic courses developed in cooperation with industry requires flexibility, time and effort from the involved partners. The evaluation interviews indicate that student are satisfied with the courses and pedagogical approach but suggests more reconciliation meetings for course development. Labs early in the course was considered good, and division of labs at the system and the component level. However further long-term studies of evaluation of impact is necessary.

This paper is intended for people who are interested in using online remote laboratories in education. Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) have started a cooperation together with the Upper Secondary School, Katedralskolan, in Lund, Sweden. The purpose of the cooperation is to introduce remote laboratory environment for students at Katedralskolan. A remote laboratory (RL) in electronic is used as a complement to the traditional workbench. It is open 24/7 and the students can carry out laboratory assignments without any risks of damaging any equipment. When a student is familiar with the instruments and components in a laboratory assignment, and carried out parts of the experiments in the hands-on laboratory in school she/he may use the RL to finish the laboratory assignment. The students may also carry out additional experiments remote laboratory or use it to prepare for an exam. 

The VISIR Open Lab Platform designed at the Department of Electrical Engineering (AET), the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Sweden, is a platform for opening instructional laboratories for remote access 24/7 with preserved context. VISIR is an acronym for Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality. In VISIR laboratories, students perform physical experiments and laboratory work remotely. A unique interface gives them the feeling of “being there.” The platform software is published under a GPL license, and other universities, schools, etc., are invited use it to open their laboratories and to participate in further research and development. Apart from BTH, five universities in Europe have set up VISIR online laboratories for electrical experiments and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in India will set up one soon. A VISIR community has been established. Common projects are initiated, and the sharing of learning material is being discussed. This chapter is a general introduction to VISIR and its possibilities.

It is hard to attract young persons to engineering and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of education in Sweden. Factors, such as interest and ability, are affecting the educational orientation of students, and many studies suggest that there are gender related differences in students’ perceptions regarding different subject areas. Nevertheless, it is not fully evident why students’ make their educational choices. In this paper, Swedish upper secondary school students’ perceptions of interest and self-efficacy are studied in the form of a questionnaire survey to gain deeper understanding on the choices that are made. Open-ended questions regarding subject interest, as well as questions connecting STEM-related situations with perceived emotions were included, in addition to direct questions regarding interest and self-efficacy. Differences were seen both with respect to educational orientation and to gender, which confirms previous studies. Male students were interested in subjects that are accurate, logical, and scientific, while the female students emphasized the analytical and challenging aspects, in the sense that the subjects forced them to think. Interest and future opportunities affected the choice of program, while the student’s own perceived ability seemed less important. Results with respect to emotions showed that the female students in this study felt insecure and scared in STEM-related situations to higher degree than male students did. Students on the social science program were bored and uninterested, while natural science and technology program students were more interested and confident in STEM-related scenarios. These findings help us to understand how students approach STEM situations, and how to take necessary measures to equalize these situations using a norm-critical approach. © 2022 by the authors.

In In this demo session, it will be shown how to perform Active Noise Control (ANC) and various important Acoustic experiments remotely on the remotely controlled ANC laboratory developed by Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden. An important consideration in ANC is the active control’s performance dependence on the spatial position of the reference and error sensors, etc. This will be highlighted particularly. This feature is recently implemented using stepper motors which can be controlled via the Internet. It will be demonstrated how to write and upload active noise control algorithms e.g. Filtered-X Least Mean Square (FXLMS) to a digital signal processors (DSP) board. For the acoustic experiments various interesting acoustic properties such as waveforms, speed of sound, mode shapes and sound pressure spectra may be measured. A short guide about the measurements and PowerPoint presentation will be provided during the demo to facilitate for the users. The Lab setup and the equipment will be shown to the user using Skype and a web camera.

Undetected diabetes is a global issue, estimated to over 200 million persons affected. Engineering opportunities in capturing early signs of diabetes has a potential due to the complexity to interpret early signs and link it to diabetes. Persons with untreated diabetes are doubled in risk of getting cardiovascular diseases and may also suffer other consequent diseases. In Sweden, approximately 450 thousand have diabetes where 80-90% are of type 2 with 1/4 unaware of it, i.e. approx. 100 thousand. Screening approaches, searching specifically for diabetes in persons not showing symptoms has been initiated with positive results. However, some general drawbacks of screening such as false sense of security are an issue. In this publication, we focus upon in home measurements and empowering of the individual in identifying early signs of diabetes. The methods in this publication are to gather data, evaluate and give suggestion if clinical test to confirm or reject diabetes. In home measurements, education process with companies for innovation possibilities.