Abstract:

The “hunger” of engineers with digital skills globally is growing through the last 20 years. The laboratory work is an essential part of the engineering higher education process. The laboratory is where the science is experienced and where the students turn the theoretical knowledge into practical skills.The virtual laboratory concept has developed based on the evolution of the ICT and has the main task to provide the users with comprehensive tools to conduct experiments remotely as if they were in the “traditional” lab. The features of the virtual lab include global access and assurance of connected learning for users geographically separated. In addition its functionality provides a user friendly environment for a secured access to expensive equipment, digital libraries, educational potential and instruments for team work.
The purpose of this article is to test the change of user’s digital skills and attitudes of student's engineers as a result of their work in a VL. The VL was created and dedicated to future engineers studying Industrial Engineering in the Technical University of Sofia. The methods used are theoretical analysis and synthesis, pedagogical modelling and questionnaire.
The theoretical analysis and synthesis show that VL flexibility makes them easy to cooperate with other directions of modern education methods such as serious games and m-learning.
The questionnaire was conducted with Industrial Engineering students (no ICT specialization or ICT focused education) of the Technical University of Sofia. The results show that working in the virtual laboratories enhances the digital skills of users, teaching them working with contemporary communication tools, developing the ability to solve complicated tasks in a digital environment. Working in virtual laboratories the students process information to use it with other software applications, providing them with a connection for better and sustainable acquisition of knowledge and experience exchange. The work in the virtual laboratories motivates students and enriches digital skills. It enables users to make use of digital technologies in transformative ways, including abilities that form the basis of engineering The frame of digital skills established by the European Comission was used in the survey in order to prove that the developped virtual laboratory posses the neccessary integrated capacity to be used as a tool for supporting the Digitising European Industry.
Despite the potential of VLs they are still hardly developed and less used in engineering higher education - the USA and recently UK have a significant success with the implementation of the concept unlike other regions. Creating and VL in the framework of mobile learning is still a challenge that requires collaboration between scientists from different fields. The inertia of many universities needs to be overcome to facilitate the implementation of virtual laboratories into regular learning programs.

Keywords:

Didgital skills, virtual laboratories, engineering education, traditional laboratories.