Work in progress: Hybrid lab for engineering learning

This paper describes the implementation of a hybrid platform for experimental activities in engineering courses. The proposed platform can be used as a remote or face-to-face laboratory;it may also be ideal for the new normal after the Covid 19 pandemic. The proposal has the purpose to help engineering teachers to build this hybrid laboratory without specialized knowledge, requiring little time for its implementation and practically no economic investment. To validate the proposal, the process to build the course of a hybrid laboratory for Control System course is described in this paper, which is expected to have experimental activities within the university and from home. After the implementation, the full functionality of the laboratory will be carried out both in its remote and face-to-face format. © 2023 IEEE.

Hybrid Mode: A New Norm for Electrical Engineering Laboratory Education?

CONTEXT The COVID-19 pandemic has created an incredibly challenging period in which to deliver engineering laboratory exercises. Utilising available digital technologies, the authors converted traditional hands-on laboratory exercises to virtual labs and remote labs. Commencing in Semester 2, 2020, the authors' School has offered a hybrid teaching model which simultaneously delivers laboratory content to an on-campus cohort (who participate in traditional hands-on labs) and a remote-learning cohort (who participate via virtual and/or remote labs). While trying to ensure that the learning experience of both on-campus and remote-learning students were similar, and that teaching outcomes were maintained, the authors observed that the success in adaptation of existing course content to the hybrid teaching model differs between Units of Study (UoS). There is a challenge to understand the basis for these differences and how to optimally design teaching material and manage classes to achieve the best learning outcomes. PURPOSE The authors manage and coordinate operation and teaching across six electrical engineering teaching laboratories. This paper aims to report the degree of success of introducing hybrid laboratory education across twelve UoS. Specifically, based on student responses to a survey undertaken in Semester 1, 2021, the authors evaluate the effectiveness of the hybrid model by seeking to answer two questions: (1) Could the students be satisfied with the new hybrid model? (2) Could on-campus and remote-learning students have similar learning experiences? METHODS The study covers the School's teaching laboratory programs that span three broad teaching disciplines: power/energy, communications/photonics, and computer/digital electronics. They are organised in either mixed mode (both on-campus and remote cohorts undertake the same exercises) or parallel mode (cohorts complete different exercises that have common learning outcomes). Student survey data across twelve UoS are available, including responses about learning experience, tutor teaching, and additional comments. The method is mainly quantitatively statistical analysis, supplemented by qualitative study. OUTCOMES Overall, the hybrid lab program results in a satisfactory learning experience for students. This means that implementing electrical engineering laboratory teaching using a hybrid model is found to be both practical and applicable. However, students on-campus in the mixed mode and both cohorts in the parallel mode tended to adapt more successfully to the hybrid model than those remote students in the mixed mode. It prompts the educators to fine-tune the hybrid program to better accommodate the remote mixed mode students. CONCLUSIONS While the hybrid model can deliver effective laboratory education, the degree of success and student experience was found to vary between different cohorts. Further study is warranted to understand the factors behind these differences and to then explore more effective approaches to maximise the students' learning experience. This paper serves as a starting point for the community to discuss the new norm for engineering laboratory education. The pandemic has already had a transformational impact on the delivery of engineering education, and hybrid education may not be transient but instead a future steady state. Copyright © Huang, Chu & Jones, 2021.

Addressing the need for online engineering labs for developing countries

Before the pandemic, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals included cutting learning poverty in half by 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe negative impact on education throughout the world and set back progress toward this goal. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education include laboratory experiences. Engineering and Technology program Accreditation Agencies deem labs critical to an engineer's education and require it in the criteria for international accreditation. While converting traditional instruction to virtual instruction posed a challenge to all, developing countries faced higher constraints of limited bandwidth, connectivity, and household access to technology. Once the access problems are resolved, universities still have the challenge of providing inclusive access to online laboratory experiments, particularly for engineering students. This paper presents current solutions for online Engineering laboratories and proposes an online lab management system and a federated lab model appropriate for developing countries that the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI) is currently developing and piloting. © 2021 IEEE.