The 2018 GOLC International Online Laboratory Award (simulated experiments section) goes to the virtual Electrical Circuit Lab, developed by the University of Twente’s Jakob Sikken. The prize is being presented today, at a conference in Düsseldorf.
The FP7 Go-Lab project, which was launched in 2012 under the leadership of Ton de Jong (a professor at the University of Twente), is aimed at young Europeans in the 10 to 18 age group. The aim was to fire them with enthusiasm for science, engineering and technology while, at the same time, teaching them research skills. Working in online learning environments linked to an online laboratory, these young people learn how to formulate research questions, carry out experiments and draw conclusions based on the results obtained. That Go-Lab project lives on in the shape of its H2020 successor, Next-Lab, and in the H2020 GO-GA project, which aims to spread the Go-Lab ecosystem throughout Africa.
The Go-Lab project’s portal (www.golabz.eu) now provides access to more than 500 online labs. School pupils can use this to run experiments online. These can take place in virtual laboratories or in real physical laboratories – albeit remotely.
Award
One of these virtual labs has now won a prize. This particular lab was developed by Jakob Sikken, a researcher at the University of Twente’s Department of Instructional Technology. The prize in question is the 2018 GOLC International Online Laboratory Award (simulated experiments section). Mr Sikken developed a digital environment in which school pupils can build complete electronic circuits themselves (in a computer) and experiment with them. The prize is presented by the Global Online Laboratory Consortium (GOLC), which aims to develop and promote online experimental learning environments.
