Online laboratories are becoming more popular and the implementation has largely increased in higher education. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this implementation within a very short time and turned teaching and learning in laboratory courses to a challenge as all teaching shifted towards a virtual format. Laboratory learning is gradually being achieved by practicing and experimenting in an active learning environment and mostly through interactions among teachers, students and resources. However, distance education laboratory courses cannot offer the benefits of the physical environment, influencing learners' engagement and their overall performance. Through a systematic literature review, this report explores and analyses different teaching methods, previously being applied in virtual labs, in order to improve students' engagement. The methods are then assigned into different categories of tools, presented as an online laboratory teaching toolbox. The toolbox provides teachers with an overview of possible teaching tools to improve different types of interaction in their future online laboratory teaching. Moreover, the report concludes that there are several limitations to the pedagogical methods and tools applicable to online laboratory teaching.
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