The article considers the issues of organization of laboratory work in the Academy of the Federal penitentiary service of Russia of the students enrolled in the specialty 56.05.01 Logistics. The results of the pedagogical experiment to determine the eff ectiveness of various methods of laboratory work on the discipline “Electrical engineering and electronics” are given. The article considers the methods of organization of laboratory work in the traditional form using real equipment and measuring instruments, as well as in an alternative form in the form of virtual laboratory work using computer models of devices, equipment and measuring instruments. The sequence of stages of the pedagogical experiment is described. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods of organization of laboratory work are given. According to the results of statistical processing of the results, conclusions about the eff ectiveness of the methods of organization of laboratory work are made.