VIRTUAL LABORATORY FOR TEACHING ELECTRIC ENERGY EFFICIENCY

This paper presents the implementation of a virtual laboratory of electric energy efficiency in Carlos III University of Madrid. The objective is to improve skills related with the use of the interactive tools, to develop the personal work and to boost the autonomy of the student. These objectives are going to be achieved by using new interactive technologies, the so called e-learning. The propose architecture and a description of the laboratory work are shown.

1 TARGET
The virtual laboratory is designed to be used at the last course of Electrical Engineer degree. It covers virtual lectures, exercises, and on-site laboratory works. One hundred and five students carried out the new exercises proposed in the laboratory.

2 METHODOLOGY APPLIED
In order to achieve the proposed goals, exercises related to real cases of how to reduce energy consumption and how to improve energy efficiency at industrial installations are designed at the virtual laboratory. Those exercises are customized for each student relating their personal ID with the main data of the exercise. The new exercises are available on the university web-page after the student has provided the username and password to the system.
Once the student has logged into the system, he can find the following information:
• Virtual tutorial lesson about electric energy efficiency
• Examples of real cases of electric efficiency in industrial installations
• A self-evaluation test that allows the student to evaluate his knowledge on the subject
• Final evaluation exercises. Each student has to solve individually the exercises customized for him. Then, he has to send the solution through internet
• An electronic poll for collecting the comments of the students about the virtual laboratory and the distance learning process
The work of the student is measured by the results obtained in the final exercises. The conclusions of this e-learning approach have been that the student works by his own, feels comfortable with the proposed exercises, thinks the work is attractive and he is motivated to face exercises with higher level of complexity.