Digital Applications for Laboratory Sessions in Electronics Courses

Abstract: In 2020 the need to have electronics laboratory sessions digitally arose because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though it was a pandemic the new engineering students came to the university to perform their laboratory sessions. As a result, it was realized that there was a lack of knowledge in selecting a suitable application for the laboratory sessions. This thesis aims to research what applications that are available and suitable for digital electronics laboratory sessions. There are two main types of digital programs, simulators and remote laboratories. Although, in this thesis, only simulators were tested. A comparative study was done using a mixed-method containing an interview, a literature study, a specification review, and a case study. The interview was conducted with the two lecturers of the course DA215A. The case study resulted in qualitative data from six applications where five of them were deemed suitable for a simple laboratory session, and one was fitting for more advanced sessions. All the programs have different advantages meaning that when choosing an application that is to be used in a course, knowing its purpose is vital.