Virtual Laboratories Measuring Real Devices

There are many ways the Internet is changing traditional classroom instruction. Laboratory experiences have always been an important part of any engineering curriculum, and the question arises, can this part of the engineering program be translated to the Web in a meaningful way. Utilizing the Internet to enhance this part of the curriculum faces different challenges and different rewards than found with the classroom portion of a course. This paper examines "Virtual Laboratories" and then details a specific example of controlling instruments through the Internet mixed with Java Applets in a Junior level Electronic course at University of the Pacific.