Next Generation Lab puts Denmark's past in the hands of its future

Next Generation Lab turns large and hitherto unstudied urban assemblages of archaeological leather and bone into a laboratory learning experience for high school students. The students, in turn, provide species identifications and thus increase knowledge on medieval and Renaissance livestock exploitation and material selection by craftsmen.

Education in the New Normal Era: The Implementation of an Accounting Living Laboratory During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Students and lecturers in various fields (including accounting) need to adapt to the new normal life resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This highlights the need to maximize the use of technology as the main learning media, not least in student activities. A living laboratory model for accounting education was created through cooperation between universities and MSMEs. The living laboratory learning process has been proven to support students’ skills. However, carrying out laboratory learning in the midst of a pandemic is a challenge. This study aimed to determine the contribution and advantages of living laboratories for accounting education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive-qualitative methods were used with a case study approach. Data were collected through online interviews and focus group discussions. Participants were students who used a living laboratory model in MSMEs. Data were reduced, presented and verified. The living laboratory was designed and implemented based on procedures and real work standards. Based on the results, it can be concluded that even though the living laboratory accounting learning was carried out online during a pandemic, students still obtained significant benefits. Learning activities of the living laboratory were in addition to achieving mastery of competencies. The results also emphasized the development of soft skills that were instilled in the individual students, including intellectual, emotional, spiritual and social intelligence. Keywords: COVID-19, Accounting, Education, Living Laboratory

Impact of remote experimentation, interactivity and platform effectiveness on laboratory learning outcomes

Access and personalized instruction required for laboratory education can be highly compromised due to regulatory constraints in times such as COVID-19 pandemic or resource shortages at other times. This directly impacts the student engagement and immersion that are necessary for conceptual and procedural understanding for scientific experimentation. While online and remote laboratories have potential to address the aforementioned challenges, theoretical perspectives of laboratory learning outcomes are critical to enhance their impact and are sparsely examined in the literature. Using Transactional Distance Theory (TDT), this paper addresses the gap through a case study on Universal Testing Machine (UTM). By comparing physical (PL-UTM) and remotely triggerable (RT-UTM) laboratory platforms, the structure and interactions as per TDT are analysed. Characterization of interactivity between remote learners and instructors disclose indicative parameters that affect transactional distances and aid in conceptual understanding in remote laboratory learning environment. An extensive pedagogical study through development of two instruments towards assessing conceptual understanding and perception of platform effectiveness that was conducted both on physical laboratory and RT-UTM showed: (1) remote users conducted experiments 3 times more frequently (2) completed assignments in 30% less time and (3) had over 200% improvement in scores when RT-UTM platform was integrated into mainstream learning.