Changing a Standard Telecommunications Laboratory to a Same-Time–Different-Place Virtual Laboratory Format: Techniques Utilized and Lessons Learned

While distance learning via video conferencing has gained wide acceptance in many universities around the world, interactive laboratory classes at a distance remain a weak area in this arena, especially those that require live interaction among students and the instructor to achieve cognitive or psychomotor outcomes. This paper discusses changes made to a same-time–same-place (STSP) telecommunications laboratory that have allowed experiments to be offered in a same-time–different-place (STDP) manner. Some of the key lessons learned to date are also presented.