LaboRem: open lab for remote work

The advances in communication networks together with the improvement of device interconnectivity and Web technology make it possible nowadays to develop distant e-learning applications that encompass the entire learning process: not only lectures, tutorials and simulations, but also practical labwork on real or virtual instruments. Pros and cons of e-labs are listed in the literature, based on comparative studies between the three types of laboratories: hands-on, virtual and remote. In this paper, we present an open client-server architecture for remote instrumentation within a virtual lab. It is based on a plugin technique for sharing technical resources (i.e. connection of new available experiments). We describe a prototype implementation for labwork at undergraduate level in signal processing, circuit measurement and system testing. Our contribution is twofold: a) a template plug-in technique, making it easy for tutors to design and insert new experiments within the lab framework (flexibility and extensibility); b) the use of a game-like pedagogical approach: the distant labwork is implemented as a game sequence with various steps. Finally, this project is intended for being used by foreign universities that do not have at disposal all the expensive equipment required for measurement and testing, but only have access to the network. We hope this will contribute to the "democracy of knowledge".