Developing virtual laboratories for introductory control

This paper focuses on student access to learning opportunities and in particular those where students can learn by trial and error, such as in laboratories. It is recognised that regular student access to real equipment is a challenge for many institutions and thus alternatives are required, such as remote access laboratories. However, even remote laboratories are non-trivial to make available and thus this paper focuses on virtual laboratories. It demonstrates how these can be formulated very efficiently, can be highly accessible and critically, enhance the student learning experience. Several examples of virtual laboratories are discussed.