New Dimensions in Teaching Digital Electronics: A Multimode Laboratory Utilizing NI ELVIS IITM, LabVIEW and NI Multisim

Abstract

Over the years, conventional Laboratories in African Universities have been hampered by inadequate resources in terms of the required hardware, space and skilled personnel to administer them. This paper describes a multi-dimensional approach to experimentation, developed by the Makerere University iLabs Project Team, hereafter referred to as iLABS@MAK. The two dimensional approach involves both Virtual Labs and Online Laboratories designed to address laboratory deficiencies in Digital Electronics, encompassing five courses in the curricula of the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in Computer, Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering Programs. A digital Online Laboratory, the Makerere University Digital iLab (MDEi) supporting experiments in the fields of combinational logic circuits and asynchronous sequential logic circuits has been developed. The laboratory utilizes the National Instruments Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS IIâ?¢) platform, the Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) graphical programming environment and NI Multisim. Typical experiment setups supported by the MDEi are presented