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Abstract—The paper demonstrates how existing virtual lack of good teachers. Although at present there are already
laboratory can be extended with more experiments thanks to online courses that provide instructional videos, but it solves the
experiment manager. As a base project StarkLab was used which problem only partially. Thanks to internet experiments can be
uses JavaScript for both client and server implementations. Based structured for visualization and control remotely. Nowadays, a
on the previous work, the aim was to propose enhancements and
create new activity module for education software Moodle which
lot of equipment already provides an interface to connect
would simulate different experiments. This module combines computer and process data from it. Experimenting over the
variety of technologies, but it is based on JavaScript framework internet allows the use of resources, knowledge, software and
Angular.js. The result of this paper is a module for Moodle which data when physical experiments cannot [3].
can simulate experiments based on its configuration.
I. INTRODUCTION
The laboratory is the place where experiments are taken. The
usual experimental process requires that a physical laboratory
exists. It has to be accessible and equipped with the necessary
accessories. In addition, a lab instructor must be also trained to
monitor the progress and accuracy of the experiment. Such
learning process of practical skills could be a little obsolete
because of rapid development new technologies almost in all
areas. The added value of new technologies allows us to create
new things, but it also enables us to make old things much better,
more efficient and more creative. That is why we will try to use
the latest tools for creating a virtual lab in the web environment.
In this way, we will try to bring the user a better experience and
this improve the quality of the learning process [1].
From the students and teachers experience we know that Fig. 1. The difference between a face-to-face and remotely controlled
virtual laboratory can be important part of the learning new experiments
things. Man can learn faster when he tries things several times,
and after that, he understands how it works [2].
In this paper, we discuss the creation of virtual laboratory
The work in this paper brings a new module of activities for (VL). Before we describe the list of technologies to create VL,
the education system Moodle, which will have the character of we must explain what we consider under VL. Generally, we can
virtual laboratory. This module should be able to simulate say that VL is a computer program, where students interact with
different experiments and show the user the results of these the experiment by the computer via the Internet as it is depicted
simulations in a clear manner. in the Fig. 1 [2].
II. VIRTUAL LABORATORIES A typical example is the simulation experiment, where the
At the time when the Internet was not yet widespread in use, the student interacts with the web/app interface. Another possibility
experiments were done in real laboratories. It was important to is a remote-controlled experiment where the student interacts
with the real device via the computer interface, although he can
keep on with different safety regulations to the possibility of
be far away. This is the case when a virtual laboratory turns into
personal injury or damage to equipment. Distance and lack of a remote laboratory.
financial resources make real experiments difficult to perform,
especially in cases where it is necessary to have some advanced When the web excludes the second option, so we have the
and sophisticated tools. Another encountered problem is the following definition: "We call it a virtual laboratory where the
student interacts with the experiment, which is physically at
distant from him or her and not to demand any physical reality".
People often think that the main benefit of a virtual
laboratory is to replace the real one. But it is not. You cannot
replace the experience of the real work with the VL. Although
VL is better than no experience. VL should not be seen as
providing the maximum possible interaction experience.
The role of the selected database is to keep records of the In Fig. 4, there is a project structure that already contains
simulated data. These records will be saved in the JSON format. added directories.
Selected parts of the application that communicate with the
database are done using the software drivers. These drivers B. Web interface of Virtuallab
provide database manipulation tools such as search, storing and To create a web interface, the JavaScript framework
deleting items according to the criteria needed. Angular.js was chosen. Fig. 5 shows the simulation input form,
real-time data as table, chart and animation. It is possible also to
F. StarkLab
show previously data from simulation. The data from this table
The full specification and documentation of this virtual can be viewed, downloaded or deleted.
laboratory is in the work [10]. Our interventions in our
application are minimal and their importance is to achieve
compatibility with our computing server, thereby making the
StarkLab web server easier. In Fig. 3 StarkLab is highlighted
because of compatibility with updated architecture.
V. IMPLEMENTATION
After the design of the new architecture, the implementation
phase of the project started, which included the following steps:
• Create a Moodle activity module called Virtuallab.
• Create a web interface for Virtuallab using Angular.js.
• Create a computing server.
Fig. 5. Welcome page of Virtuallab.
• Create an experiment manager.
After submitting the input parameters to the computing
server, the web application switches to the progress section,
A. Moodle activity module where is waiting to get data. As soon as the web application
receives the data from the computing server, the graphs plotting
Each module for Moodle is stored in its directory. This
the data and the table is showed as in Fig. 6.
directory contains a mandatory file structure. This initial
Fig. 8. Experiment manager.
After successfully completing the simulation, the data is Necessary conditions are:
automatically stored in the MongoDB database and is available • Stored on a computing server in a folder with a unique
in the Previous simulations section. The web fragment of this name.
section can be seen on Fig. 7.
• M-file for initialization of input parameters to the
Moodle environment.
• M-file to run the Simulink schema and return output
values.
• Simulink scheme.