Abdullah Y. Al-Zoubi

The role of knowledge management and e-learning in professional development

The rapidly growing use of technology in education is changing the way in which knowledge is produced, stored and distributed. Online education has already been accepted as the way of the future; knowledge may be distributed across both time and space. Knowledge Management (KM) techniques can be used to capture, organise and deliver this knowledge and management systems can be used to quickly identify the most relevant information and distribute it to meet specific needs. In this paper, light is shed on the basic concepts of KM and e-learning. A discussion on how KM and e-learning can be integrated and leveraged for effective online education and training is presented.

Integration of an online digital logic design lab for it education

Digital electronics is a fundamental course in electrical engineering and many information technology programs, as well as most other science programs. In this paper, we present web-based system aimed at teaching logic design concepts and practices for computer science and engineering students implemented using LabVIEW. Experiments, which include digital logic gates, combinational logic circuits, seven segment display, sequential logic and counters are easily constructed and performed, both in traditional and online setups. This course is as an example of how to integrate a combination of theory and lab experiments simultaneously in a blended learning environment, where lectures can present the material for students to access, and at the same time per-form the experiments online into the curriculum.

An Electronic Engineering Mobile Remote Laboratory

A new architecture for the development of a wireless remotely controlled laboratory with focus on educational applications in electronics engineering is presented. The Internet is used as the communication infrastructure to enable remote students to access experimental equipment via mobile devices. The remote lab aims to support access of clients running on PCs or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices while the server implementation was based on LabVIEW programming language. Experimental tools were created to allow users to collect data and information about the experiments, giving encouraging initial results where students are able to undertake simple engineering remote experimentation. Further experiments are envisaged and international collaboration is underway.

Remote laboratory collaboration plan in communications engineering

Communications laboratories for electrical engineering undergraduates typically require that students perform practical experiments and document findings as part of their knowledge and skills development. Laboratory experiments are usually designed to support and reinforce theories presented in the classroom and foster independent thinking; however, the capital cost of equipment needed to sustain a viable laboratory environment is large and ongoing maintenance is an annual expense. Consequently, there is a need to identify and validate more economic solutions for engineering laboratories. This paper presents a remote laboratory collaboration plan for use in an electrical engineering communications course.

Implementation of a Remote Analog and Digital Communications Laboratory for e-Learning

Rapid changes in the field of engineering technology have increased the need for universities to provide engineering and engineering technology students with meaningful and relevant practical experiences; however, limited available resources in the provision of laboratory hardware and infrastructure have been the principal impediment in achieving this objective. Such hardware limitations have been increasingly marginalizing the quality of engineering and engineering technology education. E-learning can be used to help universities and technical colleges overcome this problem. One approach that can be implemented to overcome this problem is to expand e-learning activities in programs with limited resources to take advantage of online computer-based technology. In this model, remote instrumentation technology and the internet are merged to interface students with the physical world

Application of Remote Technology to Electrical Power System Laboratories

A prototype of a remote laboratory to conduct electrical power experiments over the internet has been developed to allow students to access the setup and perform measurement and analysis of typical electrical power experiments. The main goal of the paper is to provide a mean of resource sharing of expensive power equipment to students from other universities in Jordan and beyond in addition to students at Tafila Technical University, where the traditional electrical power systems laboratory is located. The design approach is based on modifying the existing traditional systems to facilitate remote access via the web. One typical experiment addressing synchronization procedure of two generators has been performed with a power system simulator. The data acquisition system and remote access of the power laboratory were designed based on the Lab-View programming language. Initial on students’ evaluation of the proposed online laboratory indicates that encouraging results may be obtained with remote experimentation when improved pedagogical aspects are integrated properly in the measurement procedures.

Implementation of a remote analog and digital communications lab for e-learning

A remote instrumentation model used to perform modern RF and digital communications experiments over the internet is presented. The setup allows for highly cost effective and pedagogically rigorous mechanism of instructions for students in situations where traditional laboratory equipment is either unavailable or at a premium cost. In the model, a switch matrix is used to eliminate the need for students to be present in the laboratory.

Classroom-laboratory interaction in an electronic engineering course

A remote laboratory was developed for measurement, analysis, design, and simulation of typical common-emitter amplifier electronic circuits. The data acquisition system was designed based on the Lab-VIEW programming language. Students are provided with the means to interact instantly with hands-on experimentations while in the classroom undertaking a theoretical electric and electronic circuits course in order to enhance the quality education. Wireless Tablet PCs were utilized in the course as a tool to create a blended-learning environment where the lecturer is able to deliver the lecture and to introduce in-class active-learning and laboratory exercises. The remote laboratory experiments have improved the teaching and learning efficiency and encouraged students to modify experimental procedures to obtain better results, which mimics research experience but in a class situation. Instructors and students will benefit from this arrangement in courses where they can access remotely located lab equipment during lectures.

Laboratories as a service integrated into learning management systems

This work presents the integration of remote laboratories, viewed as a set of services, into Learning Management Systems (LMSs). Remote laboratories are nowadays essential at distance learning, since students are not able to use face-to-face traditional laboratories. These remote laboratories can be employed by faculty within virtual classrooms, so that students can carry out their on-line experiments from anywhere and at any time. Therefore, the services provided by a remote laboratory must be integrated into the LMS, in order to be used during the learning process of students. In particular, the Moodle platform has been employed for achieving our purpose of integration.

Analysis of integration of remote laboratories for renewable energy courses at Jordan universities

MUREE project aims at the development of courses for training specialists about renewable energy production by combining face-to-face learning with on-line attendance. In this sense, remote laboratories are nowadays essential for distance education, even more within MUREE project, since Jordan students are not able to use face-to-face traditional laboratories due to their different physical location. These remote laboratories can be employed by instructors within their virtual classrooms, so that students can carry out their on-line experiments from anywhere and at anytime. For MUREE project, remote laboratories are seen as pedagogical elements that must be fully-integrated into a the learning/teaching process. Therefore, this work focuses its attentions toward the integration of remote laboratories into Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and, additionally, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.