Simulations of the VISIR Open Lab Platform

Contributions to Higher Engineering Education

Fidalgo

Marques

et al. 2018

Self Cite

Experimenting is fundamental to the training process of all scientists and engineers. While experiments have been traditionally done inside laboratories, the emergence of Information and Communication Technologies added two alternatives accessible anytime, anywhere. These two alternatives are known as virtual and remote labs, and are sometimes indistinguishably referred as online labs. Similarly to other instructional technologies, virtual and remote labs require some effort from teachers in integrating them into curricula, taking into consideration several factors that affect their adoption (i.e. cost) and their educational effectiveness (i.e. benefit). This chapter analyses these two dimensions and sustains the case where only through international cooperation it is possible to serve the large number of teachers and students involved in engineering education. It presents an example in the area of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, based on a remote lab named Virtual Instruments System in Reality, and it then describes how a number

Section: Scalability Constraintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Cooperation for Remote Laboratory Use

Contributions to Higher Engineering Education

Fidalgo

Marques

et al. 2018

Self Cite

“…As shown in figure 2, the research line Technical Issues is the one with more published works [2], [17], [18], [25], [27], [29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45] , [46], [47], [48], [49], [50], [51]. All the papers start by doing a detailed description of the VISIR system, including in some cases, the installation procedure.…”

Section: Technical Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

VISIR's usage as an educational resource

Lima

Viegas

Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality

et al. 2016

Laboratory experiments are one of the backbones of engineering teaching, as they help students learning in a unique way, providing better understanding of scientific theories, clarifying concepts and principles as well as improving their technical skills. Nevertheless, with the Bologna Process reforms and the economic constraints most Higher Education Institutions face nowadays, caused a significant decline in the amount of time devoted to hands-on lab. Researchers are seeking complementary ways to teach these practical skills and recently, with the explosive popularity of computer-based learning, remote labs are being used as an option. This review paper presents a first attempt to compile empirical studies that directly report the use of the remote laboratory VISIR (Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality). These practices of engineering classes/courses, used VISIR individually or as a complement to traditional hands on laboratory. Concerning these different approaches of how VISIR is used, the authors draw several conclusions -findings suggest that VISIR is a useful learning instrument, having been used, so far, by more than 4400 students. It contributes to improve students' competences and knowledge, their confidence in lab and their enthusiasm and motivation. Some factors, such as teacher's supervision and attention to the VISIR component play a crucial role in students' engagement. Finally, the results achieved through this review raise several important and still non-studied issues to be addressed by future research.

Spreading remote lab usage a system — A community — A Federation

2016 2nd International Conference of the Portuguese Society for Engineering Education (CISPEE)

Fidalgo

Marques

et al. 2016

Self Cite

Abstract-Experiments have been at the heart of scientific development and education for centuries. From the outburst of Information and Communication Technologies, virtual and remote labs have added to hands-on labs a new conception of practical experience, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education. This paper aims at describing the features of a remote lab named Virtual Instruments System in Reality, embedded in a community of practice and forming the spearhead of a federation of remote labs. More particularly, it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of remote labs over virtual labs as regards to scalability constraints and development and maintenance costs. Finally, it describes an actual implementation in an international community of practice of engineering schools forming the embryo of a first world wide federation of Virtual Instruments System in Reality nodes, under the framework of a project funded by the Erasmus+ Program.