Online labs for computer hardware courses I

• Main Author: Ong, Zhi Yuan
• Other Authors: Yong Chuen-Tze, Mark
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Computer science and engineering::Hardware::Performance and reliability
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59891
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With E-learning on the rise, all forms of knowledge have been digitized into online content so that individuals may access these resources anytime, anywhere. However, while E-Learning has proven effective in relaying information, it cannot provide interactivity. When it comes to engineering courses and hardware content, hands on experience cannot be brought online that easily. This project is part of a plan to create an Online Hardware Laboratory, or remote laboratory for students to access hardware boards online and monitor their experiments through a live camera feed. The successful completion of this project will allow students to experiment on hardware boards outside of their lab time, increasing the amount of time they can practice. The purpose of this segment is the establishment of a video server that streams live video to said students as well as the optimization of the streams’ quality. This project has searched and discovered software that has aided in the setup of a video server. This project has also compared the differences between a normal web camera and a high grade gigabit Ethernet camera. Once both the software and camera were chosen, they were tested together to iron out any issues before the video server went online. The server was tested by a group of 300 students and the feedback was generally good with a few exceptions. These exceptions included the request for an increase of video resolution, video brightness, and changes in the camera position and magnification functionalities. In conclusion, the process of setting up a video server is not as easy as remote lab predecessors have made it sound. However, solving the issues of the students may increase the experience for them and creating a better learning environment.