X-Labs are platforms designed to support experiential learning. They draw inspiration from the concept of the fab lab (short for fabrication laboratory), conceived in the late 1990s by Neil Gershenfeld, physicist and computer scientist, and professor at MIT.
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These platforms will provide students with the tools and pedagogical methods they need to work autonomously on projects. The X-Labs will be gradually deployed throughout the MINERVE project. They will bring together existing structures as well as a new central space, the “Totem space,” which will house the FacLab, the MotorLab, and the SimLab of the University of Orléans.
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- The “FABLAB” is an existing and fully operational structure on the University of Orléans campus. Its manufacturing machines and tools allow students, supervised by an engineer, to design and produce objects, instruments, and functional prototypes related to their courses or projects.
- The “FACLAB” is a to-be-created structure which will enable students to design and develop modern pedagogical or communication tools based on digital and multimedia production, with technical supervision provided by the University of Orléans’ Audiovisual and Multimedia staff.
- The “SIMLAB” is an audio-visual immersion space (in a dedicated or remote room) designed for education based on scientific scenarios integrating virtual and augmented reality. Teacher-researchers, in collaboration with technical and educational engineers, are developing and proposing these scenarios.
- The “MOTORLAB” is a platform dedicated to posture and movement analysis, equipped with modern devices. It is specifically intended for students in sport sciences (STAPS), physiotherapy, and psychomotricity programs.
- The “GEODATALAB” is an equipped computer room located at BRGM, allowing students to carry out projects involving environmental data (geoscience databases) independently. BRGM staff and teacher-researchers provide scientific and technical supervision for the projects.
- The “ECODATALAB”, designed following the model of the “GEODATALAB,” will allow students to explore and analyze databases in economics. It will be set out in the new premises of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Management (UFR DEG) on the Madeleine campus.
- The “WEBLAB” is an online educational platform offering a variety of virtual scientific instruments, ranging from microscopes to operating rooms, and including tools for petrology, archaeology, geology, physics, chemistry, biology, and virtual geography. Accessible via CELENE, it provides students with an immersive and interactive experience.