This article introduces a unified and flexible experimental framework for massive online experimentation of control education. The new architecture adopts a front-end and back-end separation scheme based on React at frontend and Nginx at backend, and a single page application has been achieved to improve user experience. Multiple features and supporting technologies which provide a flexible, interactive, and real-time platform with enhanced sense of presence and user experience are discussed. The design and implementation of the proposed system are depicted in detail. With the implementation of online algorithm design, the unified framework enables all the functionalities such as web-based algorithm design, parameter tuning, visual configuration of customized user interface, and real-time control with remote and virtual laboratories, which cover the entire process in control education experimentation. A case study with students from two universities shows that the implemented online laboratory framework can support massive students with minimum maintenance required.

Unified and Flexible Online Experimental Framework for Control Engineering Education

This article introduces a unified and flexible experimental framework for massive online experimentation of control education. The new architecture adopts a front-end and back-end separation scheme based on React at frontend and Nginx at backend, and a single page application has been achieved to improve user experience. Multiple features and supporting technologies which provide a flexible, interactive, and real-time platform with enhanced sense of presence and user experience are discussed. The design and implementation of the proposed system are depicted in detail. With the implementation of online algorithm design, the unified framework enables all the functionalities such as web-based algorithm design, parameter tuning, visual configuration of customized user interface, and real-time control with remote and virtual laboratories, which cover the entire process in control education experimentation. A case study with students from two universities shows that the implemented online laboratory framework can support massive students with minimum maintenance required. 

This study is designed to assess engineering students' and instructors' perceptions toward using E‐learning relative to their actual use metrics. A cross‐sectional survey was designed to assess perspectives among all undergraduate students from five engineering departments, in addition to those students at the general engineering level. Meanwhile, a different survey was designed and sent to the college instructors to explore their perceptions of their teaching courses. Finally, analytics data from the learning management system (LMS) log data were obtained for comparison. Additionally, the perceptions were evaluated against demographic factors for each group. The differences between both perspectives of students and instructors toward E‐learning tools are seen particularly in assessing the use of E‐learning communication, and assessment capabilities. Instructors mainly use the LMS to post material rather than taking full advantage of the other E‐Learning environment tools (communication, assessment, etc.) to promote a stronger interaction with students and foster student learning. The instructors' focus on using LMS for posting the course material is about 72%, while 68% of students have the same view on using LMS access the course material. Furthermore, the use of LMS as a communication tool is considered by about 56% of students compared with 47% of instructors who agree on this opinion. The portion of instructors perceiving the LMS as non‐difficult is 37%, while there is about 25% of them who took the opposite opinion. In the students' side there is about 52% who considers the LMS as non‐difficult compared to 20% who consider it as difficult. But investigating the log data of the LMS shows that the actual use frequency is rather low indicating an overestimated use of the LMS. The apparent overestimation of the students' and instructors' level of E‐learning usage has stemmed from the lack of or weak E‐learning culture. The analysis of the collected data shows that the length of LMS experience of the instructors has more effect on overall perception of the online courses than academic experience, rank, or academic department. Furthermore, it is revealed that the student's academic year significantly affects how these students assess the courses and instructors' interaction, while the department to which the student belongs is affecting some but not all elements of the courses. The findings of this study will help the school administration effectively develop an E‐learning framework for students and teachers to enhance overall learning performance.

The perception of engineering students and instructors in a Saudi University toward E‐learning

New extensions and features to the remote laboratories currently used for undergraduate courses in automatic control laboratory at the School of Engineering of University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland are presented. This paper shows how lab experimentation and lab simulation can be linked in a complementary way. In fact, their adequate combination offers the students the opportunity to apply classroom theoretical knowledge while conducting a real experiment. Besides, the lab-based simulation tools can be used for experiment modeling and controller design. Simulation tools also facilitate analyzing and interpreting data and finally validating the results. We discuss different technical implementing trends as well as several pedagogical approaches in the way remote lab exercises are performed including real-time data acquisition, experimentation environment within user friendly interface and simulation tools.

Interactive Lab Experimentation and Simulation Tools for Remote Laboratories

Remote labs provide students with the capability for mobile learning and allow them to be practiced and experimented over specialized equipment and tools, from any place, for acquiring practical skills and fulfilling assignments of the courses they follow. Without the provision of such facilities, distant courses focusing on the training of students to use and program specific hardware equipment or licensed software cannot be offered. In this paper we wish to present the remote labs we offered to students of electrical and computer engineering for their remote practicing to microcontrollers and Internet of Things programming. The Labs are based on Arduinos and exploit the capabilities of Arduino CLI. The latter is used as the toolkit to implement an always-on web service that accepts Arduino sketches, compiles, and sends them to the Arduino Labs for execution. A web camera, streaming via the web page a panoramic view of each lab, enables the illustration of the outcome to the students, so they can have live feedback for the results of their programming. The Labs are complemented by a web-based booking system for scheduling access to them. Finally, appropriate course material and exercises have been prepared for the training of students over the Labs. The remote Arduino Labs are implemented in the context of SYS-STEM, a two-year EU funded Erasmus+ KA2 project that aims to fill the gap of educational systems for training students remotely over open laboratorial platforms. This paper describes the rationale, aims and objectives of the project and presents the produced course material and its deployment in project partners’ pilot installations.

Remote Arduino Labs for Teaching Microcontrollers and Internet of Things Programming

In engineering education, laboratories represent an important academic resource as they provide practical training in addition to the fundamental theories. However, the acquisition of new machinery and the maintenance of the equipment imply a large investment that only a limited number of universities can afford. This paper represents innovative online education activities through a collaborative widespread network with the global south countries, deploying remote laboratories in electrical, mechanical and control engineering at a large scale within MOOC infrastructures.

Fariba Moghaddam

Papers

Massive Open Online Labs (MOOLs): An Innovative Solution to Achieving SDGs in the Global South

Interactive Lab Experimentation and Simulation Tools for Remote Laboratories