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Distance learning education has been around since the 19th century when the development of the mail services in England enabled the delivering of correspondence courses by mail.[1] In the second half of the 20th century, audio and television players where the first technological means used to deliver new, more engaging distance learning courses. Despite keeping the same way to communicate with students and postal services having become more fast and reliable, the materials were then much more diversified,[2] ranging from carefully constructed texts and audio and video records to conventional broadcast radio and television, in this case, open to all, students and non-students.[3] These were complemented by live individual or group sessions over the phone, between instructor and students, or among students, enabling real interactive teamwork.[4]
However, the breakthrough that represents a true turning point in distance learning was the introduction of the concept of e-learning during the 90s, boosted by the two most significant advances in the telecommunications area – the Internet network and the invention of the World Wide Web.[5] With the Internet a fast, reliable and interactive channel of communication between instructor and students or among students was now available, enabling a degree of interaction never achieved before in distance learning and comparable to face-to-face classes.[6] On the other hand, the World Wide Web with its hypertext links enabled the construction of much more diversified and engaging materials, supported by audio, image, and video, readily available and highly interactive.[7] This was accompanied by the mass production of personal computers, which made them accessible and affordable.[8]
In a decade, from 1990 to 2000, personal computers evolved from very expensive machines, complicated to operate and whose access was almost restricted to scientist and engineers and to technical university students, to indispensable household equipment. In spite of these advances, the undergraduate courses on offer were limited.[9]Engineering courses which require the access to specific chemistry, physics, mechanics, electrical machines, electronics or opticslaboratories and real-time interaction with equipment and instrumentation, were not available at distance.[10]
This reality is changing due to the creation of remotely accessible laboratories that enable students to perform hands-on lab work remotely, with a level of interactivity and realism never achieved before. A lot of work is being done in the past decade in the area of remote laboratories.[11]
In the specialized literature, it is possible to find many examples of different labs for different areas of physics and electrical engineering,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] each one allowing different degrees of freedom in the configuration of the experiment by the remote user.
The integration of these remote laboratories as part of fully online undergraduate programs in engineering areas enabled the creation of e-engineering courses. These are e-learning courses in engineering areas where students perform their hands-on laboratory work remotely interacting in real-time with equipment and instrumentation available online 24/7.
The first example of one such course is the L3-EOLES (Electronics and Optics e-Learning for Embedded Systems) course, an entirely online English-taught 3rd year bachelor's degree in Electronics and Optics for Embedded Systems.[22] The course, that started being offered in the school year 2014/15, is currently in its fourth edition.[23] Designed as a specialization year, this course is oriented towards a currently expanding field in the electrical and computer engineering area, the field of electronics and optics for embedded systems. This area of knowledge requires students to be able to perform experimental work to acquire the expected technical experimental skills. The execution of laboratory assignments over the Internet required the development of remotely accessible experimental laboratories enabling students to interact in real-time with real experimental setups.[24] This course has been accredited by educational authorities in Tunisia, Morocco, and France.[25]
^Gericota M. et al. "Combining E-Technologies & E-Pedagogies to Create Online Undergraduate Courses in Engineering – an Example of a Successful Experience". Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, Barcelona, July 2016, pp 4209-4218.
^Farah, S., A. Benachenhou, G. Neveux and D. Barataud. "Design of a Flexible Hardware Interface for Multiple Remote Electronic Practical Experiments of Virtual Laboratory". International Journal of Online Engineering 8(2), pp. 7-12.
^Priem, F., R. De Craemer, J. Calu, F. Pedreschi, T. Zimmer, S. Saïghi and J. Lilja. "E-Learning in Science and Technology via a Common Learning Platform in a Lifelong Learning Project". European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning (1), 24 pp.
^Sousa, N., G. R. Alves, and M. Gericota. "An Integrated Reusable Remote Laboratory to Complement Electronics Teaching". IEEE Trans. on Learning Technologies 3(3), pp. 265-271.
^Gravier, C., J. Fayolle, B. Bayard, M. Ates, and J. Lardon. "State of the Art About Remote Laboratories Paradigms – Foundations of Ongoing Mutations". International Journal of Online Engineering 4(1), pp. 19-25.
^Tawfik, M., E. Sancristobal, S. Martin, G. Diaz, and M. Castro. "State-of-the-art remote laboratories for industrial electronics applications". Proc. Technologies Applied to Electronics Teaching, pp. 359-364.
^Albu, M. M., K. E. Holbert, G. T. Heydt, S. Dan Grigorescu and V. Truşcă. "Embedding Remote Experimentation in Power Engineering Education". IEEE Trans. on Power Systems 19(1), pp. 139-143.
^Hercog, D., B. Gergič, S. Uran, K. Jezernik. "A DSP-Based Remote Control Laboratory". IEEE Trans. on Industrial Electronics 54(6), pp. 3057-3068.
^Restivo, M. T., J. Mendes, A. M. Lopes, C. M. Silva and F. Chouzal. "A Remote Laboratory in Engineering Measurement". IEEE Trans. on Industrial Electronics 56(12), pp. 4836-4843.
^García-Zubia, J., I. Angulo, J. Irurzun, P. Orduña, J. Ruiz, U. Hernández, M. Castro and E. Sancristobal. "Easily Integrable Platform for the Deployment of a Remote Laboratory for Microcontrollers". International Journal of Online Engineering 6(3), pp. 26-31.
^Cardoso, A. and P. Gil. "Online Learning in Engineering Courses Using Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks". International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy 3(1), pp. 76-80.
^Gericota M. et al. "EOLES course - The first accredited online degree course in Electronics and Optics for Embedded Systems". Proceedings of the IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, March 2015, pp 410-417.
^Andrieu G. et al. "Overview of the first year of the L3-EOLES training", Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Remote Engineering and Virtual Instrumentation, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, February 2016, pp 396-399.
