Enhanced Virtual Laboratory Experience for Wireless Networks Planning Learning

Abstract

Online education is benefiting from advanced digital resources that now can offer interactive activities. Videos, animations, virtual and remote laboratories, and online games are just some examples of these activities. Educational standards and Virtual Learning Environments VLEs allow the integration of all these materials into learning objects that can be deployed in online courses or MOOCs. Virtual Laboratories provide an opportunity to train students and give to them the confidence for future interactions with real laboratory settings, with advantages such as: cost, portability, concurrency, and safety. Educational video games can improve the students’ knowledge acquisition and develop abilities such as: mental speed, reaction, connection between thoughts and movements and concentration. This paper shows the implementation of a virtual laboratory learning experience that includes the use of video games, multimedia content and virtual simulations. The objective of this resource is to help in the learning of wireless network planning problem and improve the students knowledge in the field of wireless networks key concepts. The virtual laboratory allows students to solve simple problems of antennas distribution and progressively increase the level by adding constraints and including new concepts in the design of the network.