Students' responses to remote laboratory NetLab

In recent years a number of universities worldwide have been developing remote laboratories. We have developed one such laboratory, called NetLab, at the University of South Australia with the support by the University's teaching and learning grant. The NetLab is developed for and is used by electrical and electronics early years engineering students. As the practical experience is very important for engineering profession the NetLab is developed with a particular intention to make students feet like working in a real laboratory. The system has been used by the 1(st) and 2(nd) year students since 2003. As part of the development we are constantly evaluating it and are including students' feedback into its improvements. In this paper we present students feedback on using the NetLab and discuss students' reactions to this new way of gaining practical experience. Generally, students' responses are positive and are improving over the years as the technology becomes more available and the students get more experienced in using it. Although students are very much aware of the limitations of remote laboratories they also value their advantages.