Opened free emergency access
LabsLand opened free access for affected schools, colleges, and universities so instructors could keep laboratory work present in remote courses.
Archived initiative - 2020
When classrooms closed, real laboratories stayed online
During COVID-19 closures, LabsLand opened access to browser-based real laboratories so schools and universities could keep practical STEM work in their courses.
Historical note
The free COVID-19 emergency offer has ended. The need it solved is still current.
Free emergency access ran in 2020 and expired on August 31, 2020.
This case study looks back at that response and points today's educators toward current LabsLand options for remote laboratory access. It is not a live COVID-19 promotion.
The 2020 response
How real labs helped courses keep moving
When campuses closed, educators needed practical activities students could complete from home without turning lab courses into simulations. LabsLand made real equipment available through the browser so institutions could keep hands-on work in their STEM courses.
24institutions in the 2020 remote lab network
14countries in the remote lab network at the time
6+STEM areas included in the emergency offer
Kept physical STEM labs reachable
Students could work with real equipment in physics, electronics, Arduino, FPGA, chemistry, and biology from a browser.
Supported spaces, groups, and LMS access
Teachers could manage students through a LabsLand space and connect activities through Moodle, Canvas, Sakai, Blackboard, and Google Classroom.
Why it worked
What made the response work
Students did not need to install software
A browser was enough to reach the lab interface, observe the equipment, collect data, and continue practical activities from home.
Teachers kept the course structure
LabsLand handled the remote equipment, while institutions kept control of classes, groups, access, and the learning context.
The network mattered
The 2020 program brought together remote laboratories co-developed or hosted by institutions across 14 countries, giving educators a shared base of real equipment.
Proof under pressure
An established remote-lab model helped when access changed overnight
LabsLand was already built around browser-based access to real equipment. During the 2020 closures, that existing model gave schools and universities a practical way to keep laboratory work available from home. The same approach continues to support hybrid courses, make-up labs, off-hours practice, and distributed programs.
Everyday value
Remote laboratories fit normal practical STEM teaching
The 2020 response highlighted a need that exists beyond emergencies: institutions need flexible, repeatable access to real equipment. Browser-based real labs help extend practical STEM work across ordinary courses, online programs, and institutions with limited lab capacity.
- Established model
- Real labs through the browser
- 2020 proof point
- Continuity during closures
- Current use
- Flexible practical teaching
For schools
Use real experiments in classroom, hybrid, or homework settings without asking every school to maintain specialized hardware rooms.
ContinueFor universities
Extend practical access for engineering, science, and online programs while keeping real measurements and equipment in the course.
ContinueLab catalog
Browse the current catalog of physics, electronics, robotics, FPGA, biology, chemistry, and other STEM laboratories.
Continue