Low-Cost Virtual Laboratory Workbench for Electronic Engineering

The laboratory component of undergraduate engineering education poses challenges in resource constrained engineering faculties. The cost, time, space and physical presence requirements of the traditional (real) laboratory approach are the contributory factors. These resource constraints may mitigate the acquisition of meaningful laboratory experiences by students, which is especially true in developing countries. Virtual laboratories can be used to complement the traditional laboratory to enhance students’ laboratory experience. In extreme cases of lack of resources, the virtual lab can be used as an alternative laboratory. Although some research on the implementation of virtual laboratories has occurred, more efforts are required because of the diverse experiential needs and requirements of the engineering curriculum. This paper presents a low-cost, web-based virtual laboratory workbench for use as part of undergraduate electronic engineering courses. Some distinguishing features of the virtual workbench are that students can undertake curriculum-based laboratory activities in a realistic manner; it integrates a Bayesian Network-based assessment structure for the assessment of students’ performance; and it affords the instructor flexibility in designing laboratory exercises.