The Development of a Remote Access Electromechanical Lab and the Pedagogical Enhancing Opportunities

A number of Higher Education institutions are taking up “Remote Access Labs” and the ReLOAD system to enhance the learning experience of engineering students. This paper presents the development of one particular remote access lab at the University of Southampton (U.K.) concerning an electromechanical power transmission system. An overview of the different types of experimental investigations is given of this system with the pedagogical opportunities that are expected. The results of a survey of 2nd year undergraduate engineering students are given on their thoughts, perceptions and how remote access labs may enhance their self-learning. It is found about a 1/3 of students think that using these types of labs is just using the world-wide-web for the sake of it. However, if these labs are to be used, 55% of students think the main advantage is to be able to access them at anytime. An interesting concern raised by a number of students is the increase in “computerisation” in their learning activities. This paper finishes with a discussion on how the remote access lab is thought to be best implemented in engineering programmes taking the students perspective into account.