Dunedin-based software development firm ADInstruments earned top honours at the World Education Technology Awards for their Lt cloud-based learning platform.

QS Quacquarelli Symonds hosts the annual Reimagine Education Awards, sometimes referred to as the ‘Oscars of education’, which highlights and rewards novel strategies for the classroom. These awards are open to educational technology firms, academic institutions, and philanthropies worldwide.

Throughout the competition’s six-month duration, Reimagine Education received 1,200 applications from organisations in 70 countries. Judges from around the world, including 25 Grand Jurors, worked together to choose the winners.

The fact that Lt won the e-learning award demonstrates that it is widely regarded as a ground-breaking innovation in education.

Essential lab skills, such as managing chemicals, tissue preparation, cooperation, and hardware operation, cannot be taught without hands-on experience in the classroom. This is why lab sessions are so important in higher education.

Low student engagement caused by diversions, such as fixing broken equipment, is a common problem that makes it harder for them to learn the basics. As a result, many teachers are exploring more active and engaging learning strategies to help students better grasp complex concepts. The epidemic has only underscored the need for flexible, remote lab access for students.

Lt addresses these concerns and aims to make science education more accessible for educators and students.

“We are continually adding new features to Lt to enhance its value for educators and their students,” Katie Bracewell, education development manager at ADInstruments, said.

“The education of the upcoming generation of scientists is critical, and it is vital that Lt provides a seamless user experience and motivates students to engage in their learning.”

The platform allows users to create their own interactive content libraries on a wide variety of subjects related to the life sciences, nursing, and medicine. For example, the Anatomy Collection has interactive modules on topics like the digestive and respiratory systems.

At the same time, the Molecular Biology Collection contains topics such as lifecycles and cellular architecture like respiration and photosynthesis in cells. Regarding hands-on chemistry education, the Little Chemistry Collection is highly regarded.

All of Lt’s content collections are highly interactive and include automatically graded assessments. In addition, the platform’s software features, such as intuitive authoring, in-built analytics, and a range of question types, including MCQs, short-answer questions, annotations, categories, and drag-and-drop questions, make it easy for science teachers to design engaging and effective online science experiments and assessments.

Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, and D2L Brightspace are just some of the many learning management systems that Lt is compatible with. In addition, actual data can be sampled with the help of PowerLab, Lt Sensors, and Vernier Go Direct Sensors.

The Anatomy, Biology, and Chemistry Collections at Lt were created with pioneers in the field like Toltech and Vernier Science Education to provide high-quality, in-depth materials.

Medical students at the University of Auckland (UoA) who struggled to integrate their diverse academic experiences now benefit from the platform. A solution was provided by Lt, providing students access to more than 500 interactive, professionally-designed, and fully-customisable courses.

Students can also work with the evaluation questions with immediate formative feedback, boosting self-assurance. As an added bonus, it allows all pupils to view digital slides, expanding educational opportunities.

Lt has increased efficiency by eliminating the need for paper lab instructions and centralising curriculum, evaluation, and data collecting, leading to more attendance and engagement. As a result, Lt is a vital resource for face-to-face, online, and hybrid courses, used by over 100,000 students at more than 250 universities worldwide.

In 2022, ADInstruments teamed up with the American Physiological Society (APS) to give teachers of physiology free, interactive teaching tools using the Lt platform. The plan was announced at the society’s Centre for Physiology Education opening in August 2022, which will work with more than 500 teachers to make a complete set of learning materials.

The APS was started in 1887 and had almost 10,000 members. It significantly impacts research and education in the field of physiology. ADInstruments has been a strategic partner of APS since 2017.