Educational applications of reconfigurable hardware based virtual instruments

A lot of computer assisted learning (CAL) tools which complement traditional learning methods have been developed due to the decreasing cost and increasing capacity of personal computers. Nevertheless, there are only few experiences combining CAL tools with practical experiments in order to consolidate the theoretical learning. This is the particular case of electronics, where practical education is generally based on traditional independent measurement instruments and CAL tools are used for simulation only. This paper describes a new solution based on reconfigurable virtual instruments that provides a link between CAL tools and practical experiments in electronics.