Labs and lab manuals
Programming lab manuals and weekly labs students can finish.
We write lab manuals and weekly lab exercises for college computing courses: clear steps, starter code, rubrics and automated tests, sized to the lab period and tested end to end before release.
Why labs matter
The lab is where students actually learn to program.
A good lab manual makes students capable in the topic by the time they finish it, and prepares them for exams and for work. A confusing one costs a week. When students are learning, a single error in the instructions can throw the whole class off, so accuracy comes first.
Fits the period
Each lab is sized to the real lab block, including time for questions and submission, so students finish in one sitting.
Independent every week
Labs start from supplied starter code instead of last week’s work, so one missed week does not break the rest of the term.
Tested before release
Every lab is written by an instructor who teaches the subject and worked through end to end to catch errors and unclear steps before students see it.
What is in every lab
A complete lab, not just a list of tasks.
Each lab is mapped to a course learning outcome and comes with everything the instructor and the student need.
For students
- Learning objectives linked to the course outcomes
- Starter code or starter project
- Step-by-step instructions with checkpoints
- Plain-language explanations for ESL learners
- Clear submission instructions
For instructors
- Marking rubric
- Automated tests or a marking script
- Instructor solution, kept out of the student shell
- Timing notes and common student errors
- LMS-ready files for upload
Formats
Delivered the way your course runs.
We write labs as a printable or PDF lab manual, as LMS pages, or as Jupyter notebooks for Python and data science courses.
Lab manual
A complete lab manual for the term, in PDF or Word, with a consistent layout so students always know where to look.
Weekly LMS labs
One lab per week inside your D2L Brightspace shell, with starter files and a submission folder.
Notebook labs
Jupyter notebooks delivered to every student’s hosted workspace on schedule.
Auto-graded labs
Programming labs with test suites so students get instant, consistent feedback and instructors mark faster.
Example
Replacing a cumulative lab app.
In an advanced web programming course (PHP and MySQL), students built one app across the whole term, so one missed week broke every lab after it. We replaced it with independent weekly labs on starter code and moved integration into a group project. Read more in Labs that fit the period.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can you update our existing lab manual instead of starting over?
Yes. We review the current manual against the course outline, fix errors, update tools and versions, and rewrite only the labs that need it.
Which languages and topics do you cover?
Computing and programming courses, including web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL), Python and data science, and object-oriented programming in C#. Ask us about other topics.
Can the labs be auto-marked?
Yes. We write automated tests or marking scripts for programming labs so every submission is checked the same way.
Do you provide instructor solutions?
Yes, every lab comes with an instructor solution and notes, kept separate from what students can see.
Need labs your students can finish?
Send us the outline and your current labs. In a free 30-minute review we will tell you what we would keep and what we would rebuild.
EdFlex · North York, Ontario
support@edflex.ca · (905) 918-0618