When identifying the possible research participants for this study, it was required to determine classes that taught material similar to what was the laboratory was designed to inform students. After classes were identified, unit chairs were approached to assess if the laboratory could be incorporated into their curriculum.
The laboratory was presented to students as an extra resource, not a mandatory laboratory. This was done to ensure students would not be advantaged/disadvantaged by the laboratories availability.
The participants for this laboratory were selected based off of subjects they were currently enrolled in. The subjects selected were done so in order to align the subject material being taught to the laboratory. Due to this, many of the participants were enrolled in electrical engineering degrees. Overall, four subjects
94 were selected over a two year period. This was to allow the greatest number of students to access the laboratory at any given time.
Subjects were selected based off of a selected few criteria. The subject needed to have subject material related to power generation or renewable energy. This meant that students were primarily from undergraduate or postgraduate electrical engineering disciplines, however some students from the mechatronics discipline were also presented. The subject also needed to have a laboratory component that allowed for the remote laboratory to be implemented.
A discussion with unit chairs was had to identify if specific units would be applicable. From these discussions, a total of four subjects were selected. All students from these subjects were invited to participate in the research project.
5.3.1.1. Identifying units to implement laboratory
This section will cover the specific units selected in which subjects were chosen. It will include a brief description of the unit, as well as the relevance to the remote laboratory. In total, four units were selected, with students from all four units being given access to the remote laboratory. The units selected often covered topics such as renewable energy systems, and offered the laboratory as supplementary to the main learning material. For the purpose of this research, the remote laboratory access was granted to students during the very first week of their studies, however there were instances where students were offered the laboratory as an example of content relevant to an assessment piece, or in a unit where the initial topics were not relevant to renewable energy systems. In these
95 instances the laboratory was only offered to students in the weeks that it was relevant to their studies.
The first unit to be discussed in this section was a unit in which students were given access to the remote laboratory was offered both as an on campus delivery as well as online. It was a post graduate level subject that required no prerequisites and therefore could be taken by any masters students enrolled in the course. The subject had a total of 55 students enrolled, with all enrolled students being given access to the laboratory. The class had a total of three contact hours per week, being separated into one hour of formal classes, and two hours of laboratory or project work. In terms of content, the unit aimed to deliver information regarding renewable energy systems including solar energy systems, but also wind, hydro, geo-thermal and biomass. The primary focus however was on the wind and solar systems.
The relevance to the remote laboratory for this subject was in the fact that it aimed to introduce students to controllers for renewable energy systems such as wind power and solar power, as well as an introduction to power electronic converters for these renewable energy systems. The laboratory provided students with a visual indication of the energy generated by a solar system, and therefore show students an example of the output of such a system. The students were also exposed to distributed generation, micro grid system and energy storage systems as part of their studies.
Overall the unit content aligned with the learning objective of the remote laboratory, that being to expose students to the renewable energy solar system
96 and to be able to analyse the output signals in real time. This would have been beneficial for the students looking into renewable energy converters, as this laboratory exposed them to the outputs of an inverter before they were required to design and model a renewable energy system.
The next unit to be discussed included a total of 37 students. The unit was offered as a post graduate level course, requiring all students to attend a total of three hours class per week, with the three hours being separated into one hour of traditional lectures and two hours of group work. The subject was offered as both on campus and remote.
Students were given access to the laboratory in the early weeks of their course, having the ability to access it at any time. As was common, the unit co- ordinator informed all students they had access, and an online link was posted on the unit’s web page. Students were invited to access the laboratory in their own time, and after sufficient time had passed an email was sent to all students with links to both the laboratory and the survey.
The subject covered topics such as energy efficiency, and strategies to assist in the development of sustainable energy systems. Students were required to complete energy efficiency calculations and to analyse renewable energy data. They were also tasked with analysing demand management for residential, commercial and industrial applications. The laboratory was offered to students as a way for them to analyse the output energy of a single solar inverter to allow them to analyse the expected power outputs of such a system and to be able to use this knowledge to assist them in choosing an appropriate solar panel system
97 for possible application, including residential. The laboratory also assisted them by providing another example of renewable energy data for them to analyse. This produced further exposure for the types of outputs they would have to design around, as well as the hardware they would have to use to design potential residential renewable energy systems.
Within the undergraduate degree, there were two units in which the remote laboratory was offered. The first of these two units to be discussed was a required unit for all engineers studying towards both the Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering and Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The unit was offered both to on campus students and to those studying remotely. Students studying in the on campus mode were required to attend two hours of formal lecture per week, a single hour of tutorial and a three hour practical session every third week. In total there were 59 students enrolled in this unit.
Students in this unit were required to study both analogue and digital systems, with the analogue systems being introduced in the second half of the study period. Due to this, the laboratory was introduced to the students in the second half of the semester. The lecturer for the unit introduced students to the laboratory by providing them with a link to its location as well as the instruction manual, which was posted in the online resources for the subject. This was done to allow those students studying the subject remotely the opportunity to also view the renewable energy data. The intention of offering this laboratory was twofold. Firstly, it allowed for students who may not have gained exposure to renewable energy systems in their degree to analyse the outputs of a solar energy system for
98 what could be the first time in their degree. This allowed students to both analyse a renewable energy system, and to link their current foundation knowledge to analogue system to a real world renewable energy system. The other advantage of offering this laboratory was to allow for students to analyse the outputs in terms of an analogue system. It provided students with a context in which to ground their engineering knowledge.
The final unit that this laboratory was offered in was a second year undergraduate electrical unit. It was offered to undergraduate engineers studying both the electrical/electronic major and the mechatronics major. It was also possible for students from outside of these majors to take the subject as an elective. In total there were 84 students enrolled in the class, and all of these students being granted access to the remote laboratory.
Students were required to attend 1 hour of classes per week and a 3 hour practical session ever fortnight. They were also required to attend a 1 hour tutorial session every fortnight. The subject aimed to expose students to a wide range of renewable energy systems, and gain the knowledge and experience to deal with the varying types of systems. Both on campus and remote students were offered this subject.
As with all other units, the remote laboratory was offered to the students within the first few weeks, however this subject offered the laboratory to the students in the third week of the trimester. This was done in order to align the teaching material with the laboratory. Students were required to analyse renewable energy systems to eventually be able to model their own system. They
99 were required to produce on grid and off grid solutions. The intention of the laboratories inclusion in the subject was to assist students in visualising outputs of a renewable energy system, as for some this would be their first time working with such systems, even if primarily through simulation. They were also shown visually that if only solar power were to be used, they would need a failsafe for times when solar power was not being produced. This encouraged students to look into more than just solar energy as a renewable energy system. Some students were able to use the data gained from the laboratory for their written assessment.
A common trend between all units was the fact that all units were offered both as an online course and in person through lecturers and practical sessions. This meant that students studying online could potentially have never studied in an online environment before. In addition to this, the method of introducing students to the laboratory involved having the students invited to access the laboratory by the lecturer of the subject, with the lecturer briefly going over the functionality the laboratory provided to students. At this point the online instruction manual on how to access the laboratory was posted in the unit’s online resources section in order to inform those students studying remotely. At this point both the remote students and those studying online had the resources required to access the remote laboratory.