Paper-based processes are increasingly giving way to advanced technology solutions. Cutting-edge research especially relies on advanced technology, which has facilitated extraordinary advances in our understanding of the universe and the human body, and has spurred new treatments, products, and innovations in every aspect of life.

To prepare the researchers of tomorrow, students need to gain hands-on research experience. With LabArchives classroom notebooks, instructors can organize their lab courses, distribute assignments, have students document their work, give feedback, and provide grades in one centralized hub. Here’s what lab instructors need to know about incorporating LabArchives for Education into their lab classes.

Three Modules for Every Classroom Need

Electronic Research Notebooks (ERN) from LabArchives is a cloud-based platform for documenting experimental methods, tracking progress, storing data, collaborating with others, tracking lab inventory, and scheduling the use of lab resources. LabArchives has three major modules to help you handle all the needs of a lab class:

1. Create Classroom Notebooks

With LabArchives for Education, you can set up a lab course by either importing existing content or utilizing pre-built protocols. Each student or group gets their own notebook, with educational resources and assignment instructions for the class. Students can then document their lab activities directly into the notebook. Instructors can then monitor students’ work, provide feedback, and grade assignments in one streamlined platform. LabArchives classroom notebooks also integrate with Canvas, so your students can easily get to their notebook from the Canvas app.

2. Track Lab Inventory

The LabArchives Inventory module allows you to streamline the organization of your lab class by tracking and ordering all the reagents, chemicals, and samples your students will need for their assignments. Through this feature you can submit orders, manage your inventory, and even keep track of hazardous materials, avoid duplicate orders.

3. Schedule Space and Equipment

When you have a large class, it’s important to make sure that everyone has access to lab space and equipment. The Scheduler module provides a simple calendar and reservation service. Upload a list of lab resources, set reservation rules, invite users, and start making reservations! You can reserve resources for your whole class for set lab periods or allow students to easily choose and reserve lab time. They can then add their reservations to their Outlook or Google calendar.

A Centralized Hub for Easy Organization

The beauty of LabArchives for Education is that it allows instructors, TAs, and students to centralize all class materials in one spot for easy class management. It can be accessed via any device with an internet connection, including a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. The built-in, intuitive folder structure ensures organization from the get-go. Instructors can put all assignment instructions and background materials onto separate notebook pages to ensure students have everything they need to safely and successfully complete each lab. Students can enter their lab activities, respond to feedback, and view their grades while in the lab or on the go.

Class notebooks support PDFs, images, videos, chemical structures, and other file formats for a more immersive learning experience. Instructors can upload pictures and videos to help students understand the material and see experimental methods before attempting them. Students can do the same, to show their instructors exactly what they did and how it turned out. By taking notes directly in their ERN, students can review, edit, re-arrange, or search the content to make studying much easier.

Real-Time Communication and Monitoring

There’s no need to shuffle through stacks of papers to review student assignments and then manually record grades. Instead, instructors and TAs have access to each student's online notebook, where they can review their progress, leave comments, make recommendations, or point out errors.

By moving research notebooks online, communication can happen in real-time. Faculty can record grades in the same place as the assignment itself. If they have TAs and lab staff reviewing assignments, instructors can assign various levels of access (owner, admin, user, or guest) to limit how much of the notebook various individuals can view or edit.

Complete Data Security

When students are working with real confidential data or contributing to an established University research study, data security is of the utmost importance. Luckily that’s not an issue when it comes to the LabArchives ERN. The system adheres to multiple governmental standards for research compliance, with security that encrypts data in transit and at rest. There is a complete audit trail and continuous backup so that every revision is logged and available.  

Get Started with LabArchives!

Lean more about LabArchives Electronic Research Notebooks at the Pitt IT website at pi.tt/ern. The site includes information about how to get started and how-to resources, including helpful videos such as LabArchives Classroom Edition: Introduction for Instructors.

Then, take a more detailed look at LabArchives to determine if it’s right for your courses during a live webinar from LabArchives. Leverage LabArchives in Your Lab Courses is offered twice a month at no cost for interested instructors. The session covers how to integrate material for introductory or upper-level courses into LabArchives, organizing and creating templates, managing your courses and students, grading and providing feedback, and more.

LabArchives is just one of the many resources that supports Pitt’s renowned research efforts. Use it to support your own research and incorporate it into your lab courses to help prepare tomorrow’s investigators.