Learning by doing: vLab, a virtual laboratory for Computer Engineering education

In this paper we present the design and implementation of a virtual lab aimed at supporting teaching and learning in Computer Engineering courses. We first outline the requirements an educational tool must meet to represent an effective and compehensive support for students through the whole process that leads them to achieve conceptual understanding and thecnical skills. The described virtual lab, based on a constructivist approach and suitable for use in blended-learning contexts, responds to a general model that allows its application in different educational domains. In the second part of the paper we describe the implementation of vLab 2.0, a prototype built following the proposed directions at the University of Bologna. vLab 2.0 relies on Eclipse technology in order to guarantee openness and extensibility, and to access a set of features which concour in providing support for building an effective tool for teaching and learning.