Abstract:

In engineering education, teaching laboratories hold great significance as they provide students with opportunities to enhance and improve theoretical instruction through practical application. This enables them to effectively tackle the challenges that arise in their professional lives as engineers.

In public universities, due to the massification of education, there are limitations in conducting hands-on practices due to inadequate infrastructure and equipment. To address this problem, the project "Creation of an Internet-accessible remote laboratory for the subject of Kinematics and Dynamics" was initiated by the authors in 2004, aiming to propose solutions.

As technology advances, the practices introduced in this project have begun to diversify, incorporating virtual exercises. Consequently, starting from 2018, another initiative was implemented with the primary goal of increasing the understanding of mathematical concepts at the Basic Sciences Division of the School of Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM. The article explores the development of two exemplary practices within this project: "Newton's Law of Cooling" as a remote implementation exercise and an Augmented Reality-based practice for electrical circuits.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, academic activities were compelled to transition online. Consequently, various options were explored to ensure that the education and training of future engineers would remain unaffected.

Regarding experimental education, efforts were made to explore available alternatives that could benefit students, particularly through the utilization of simulators and home-based practices. However, many of these resources were developed externally to UNAM, resulting in some cases where their focus differed from what was desired. To address this issue and propose potential solutions, a new project was initiated with the aim of creating hands-on practices that would allow students to physically interact with the devices and instruments used, thereby reinforcing their learning through realistic laboratory activities.

Subsequently, starting in 2022 when in-person activities resumed, the potential of enhancing engineering education with virtual, remote, and home-based practices was explored. Building upon the knowledge previously acquired, the aim was to create new and diverse teaching laboratories that could support experimental education for engineers.

Through these developments and experiences, it is realized that online teaching, whether through simulation, virtual laboratories, or remote laboratories, can be valuable in complementing face-to-face instruction by providing access to facilities that face high demand.

Furthermore, the development and implementation of this type of laboratory enables the availability of infrastructure that is prepared for future scenarios where conducting in-person practices may present challenges.

Keywords:

Teaching laboratories, engineering education, internet-accessible remote laboratory, virtual exercises, hands-on practices, practical application.