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IT Teaching Labs: Innovations in a Distance Education Era
2021 9th International Conference on Information and Education Technology, ICIET 2021
  • Ahmed Seffah, Zayed University
  • Mohammad Amin Kuhail, Zayed University
  • Joao Negreiros, Zayed University
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
3-27-2021
Abstract

Computer laboratories, or simply labs, are crucial in many fields including Information Technologies (IT), Management Information Systems (MIS), Computer Science (CS) and Software Engineering (SE). Labs play a vital role in helping students achieve the know-how and develop problem solving, communication and collaboration skills. Traditional labs comprising desktop computers organized into lines or U shapes have been around for almost forty years. Many of the contemporary labs look very different from their ancestors they are designed to facilitate a myriad of learning activities including solo learning, testing and perhaps foremost, collaborative group work. This paper reviews some ergonomics issues and investigates examples of innovative labs being developed nowadays. We elaborate on the innovative labs' powerfulness in addressing the drawbacks of traditional labs as well in supporting innovative teaching methods, student creativity and interactions, and the education eco-system engagement. Further, we present several ergonomic tips as a lab proposal for Zayed University (ZU) and under the computing education research umbrella.

ISBN
9781665419338
Disciplines
Keywords
  • cloud platforms-based Labs,
  • computer labs,
  • education,
  • ergonomics,
  • fab labs,
  • living labs,
  • space organization,
  • workplace design
Scopus ID
85106438689
Indexed in Scopus
Yes
Open Access
No
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIET51873.2021.9419598
Citation Information
Ahmed Seffah, Mohammad Amin Kuhail and Joao Negreiros. "IT Teaching Labs: Innovations in a Distance Education Era" 2021 9th International Conference on Information and Education Technology, ICIET 2021 (2021) p. 215 - 221
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ahmed-seffah/1/