Web-based virtual laboratory for water resources engineering education

Abstract

This paper describes a virtual laboratory website used in water resources engineering courses at the University of Utah. The prototype virtual lab provides access via the Internet to digital video, visualization, an interactive calculator, and a written summary of key lab points. The content available for review is delivered and additional web links are provided to create a bridge from the lab experiment to classroom examples and professional practice. Movies have been created for eight laboratory sessions in an undergraduate Hydraulics course and one session of a graduate Open Channel Flow course. Animated visualizations have been created for two laboratory sessions in the Hydraulics course. A complete virtual lab website has been developed for one lab session of the Hydraulics course. The effectiveness of the content and delivery methods employed was assessed using a quiz and student surveys. The quiz results suggest students given access to the virtual lab components were able to recall key concepts better than those not havingaccess. Feedback through surveys highlighted the benefits of the virtual lab and indicated an area of need relating lab content to classroom examples and professional practice. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2009.