Design and Evaluation of a Web-based Virtual Open Laboratory Teaching Assistant (VOLTA) for Circuits Laboratory

A Virtual Open Laboratory Teaching Assistant (VOLTA) provides personalized instruction for students participating in a self-paced undergraduate circuits laboratory. VOLTA allows students to work in the open laboratory even when a teaching assistant is unavailable. The system’s components include pre-lab testing and instruction, engineering design exercises, short topic explanation videos, instrumentation instruction (including safety), and a corresponding post-lab test module. This web-based software guides a student through a circuit simulation and hardware laboratory. VOLTA will also answer frequently asked questions that the student might have during the lab. Furthermore, VOLTA can guide the students in building, verifying, and troubleshooting a circuit simulation by utilizing a circuit recognition algorithm. This algorithm uses image processing to recognize the simulated circuits. Preliminary results show the circuit recognizer module can identify simple RLC circuits. This virtual open lab approach requires fewer resources and adds flexibility by using fewer teaching assistants and less dedicated laboratory spaces. The merits of our open laboratory approach include (1) individual, self-paced learning, (2) 24/7 accessibility, (3) personalized instructions for shy or more timid students in a non-threatening environment, and (4) increasing level of engagement. Because of these advantages, students who learn in an open lab environment will perform better than in a traditional closed lab. In this paper, we present the VOLTA software framework and discuss the preliminary results of preand post-lab assessment. The ANOVA test on pre-test and post-test scores showed a p-value of 0.171 indicating a modest improvement in performance compared to students who took the same course taught using a traditional closed laboratory approach. This study suggests that VOLTA can be used as an effective learning tool in circuits’ laboratories.