  The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many universities to move to
virtual instruction during the spring 2020 semester. The transition to remote
learning was abrupt and overwhelming for teachers of all subjects, all across
the US. Nowhere was this more true than in science lab courses. The experience
nevertheless provides an opportunity to investigate the optimal design of
remote labs, with similar learning goals as in-person labs. In this study we
explore the three most common approaches to remote labs: recorded experiments,
applet-based experiments, and at-home projects. We use surveys and interviews
to make two comparisons: remote labs vs. in-person labs; the different types of
remote labs. Examining these two questions we find that remote labs perform as
well as in-person labs and students learn the most from at home physics
experiments while also enjoying those the most.
