Virtual labs aim to provide remote access to laboratory experiments for students in various disciplines of science and engineering. They allow students to practice experiments using sophisticated instruments without physical access or resources constraints. Virtual labs develop a learning management system with tools for learning like video lectures and assessments. They are initiated by the Ministry of Education in India to share costly equipment and address teacher shortages. The objectives are to provide remote lab access, engage student curiosity in experiments, and share resources. Benefits include flexible access, instant feedback, high-quality equipment, and lower costs compared to physical labs. Virtual labs should enhance but not replace hands-on experience in a real lab.

1. BY,
Krishna priya.S.V
I year
Naturalscience.

2. Introduction
Physical distances and the
lack of resources make us unable to
perform experiments especially when
they involve sophisticated instruments.
Also good teachers are always a scare
resource. Web based and video based
courses address the issue of teaching
to some extent.

3. Conducting joint experiments by
two participating institutions and also
sharing costly resources has always
been a challenge. With the present
day internet and computer
technologies the above limitations
can no more hamper students and
researchers in enhancing their skills
and knowledge.

4. Also in a country such as ours
costly instruments and equipments
need to be shared with fellow
researchers to the extent possible.
 So virtual labs aims to provide
remote - access to laboratories in
various discilplines of science and
engineering for students at all levels
from undergraduate to research.

5.  It also intends to develop a
complete learning management
system where the students can avail
the various tools for learning, including
additional web resources , video
lectures, animated demonstrations
and self evaluation.
 Virtual labs help the students to
practice and learn science and
engineering and the experiments
behind them.

6.  Virtual labs is a project initiated
by the Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Government of India
under the national mission on
education through information and
communication technology.
 Virtual laboratories are popping
up in school districts and online
learning curriculum across the country
and making it easier and less
expensive for students to do
experiments remotely.

7. The virtual laboratory is an
interactive environment for creating
and conducting simulated
experiments, a playground for
experimentation.

8. Objectives of the virtual labs:
 To provide remote-access to labs in
various disciplines of science and
engineering.
 To enthuse students to conduct
experiments by arousing their curiosity.
 To share costly equipment and
resources, which are otherwise available
to limited number of users due to
constrains on time and geographical

9. •To provide a complete learning
management system around the
virtual labs where students can avail
the various tools for learning, including
additional web resources, video
lectures, animated demonstrations and
self evaluation.

10. Salient Features.
 Modeling the physical phenomenon
by a set of equations and carrying out
simulations to yield the result of the
particular experiment.
 Remotely triggering an experiments
in an actual lab and providing the
student the result of the experiment
through the computer interface.

11. •Providing measured data for virtual
lab experiments corresponding to the
data previously obtained by
measurements on an actual system.

12. Benefits of virtual labs
Flexible access:
Perhaps the most often cited
benefit of any online learning is that it
can be done at the student’s
convenience and when he or she
learns best. The same is true of virtual
laboratories if the experiments are the
student own time.

13. Instant feedback:
Students can redo experiment
on the spot while they are still in a
critical thinking mode. All the result
are recorded, making
communication between teachers
and students more efficient too.
Experiments no longer have a “one
chance” option and students can
analyze what went wrong
immediately and give it another

14. Top-notch equipment:
Schools and students that use
virtual lab have access to cutting-
edge technology when it comes to
experimentation.
Companies that build and
maintain virtual labs must compete
with each other to stay ahead of
technology progression and that
raises the quality of options for
students.

15. With a virtual lab students do
not have to settle on outdated, yet
expensive equipment because a
school cannot afford to replace it
consistently.

16. Lower costs:
There is a fee associated with
using virtual labs but the capital
and maintenance costs are
drastically reduced. Instead of one
school footing the bill for
resources, the cost is split among
the clients of the particular virtual
lab. This allows school to provide
a better learning experience for
students at a fraction of the cost.

17. How can students learn from
virtual labs, and what are their
advantages ?
Virtual lab is important for educators
particularly science educators to understand
how to use virtual labs effectively in
classrooms. With budget challenges virtual
labs provide an avenue for teachers to be
able to present demonstrations and conduct
labs that they might not have been able to
afford. Additionally they can help present
abstract ideas that may be hard to visualize
or explain.

18. Best practices
Virtual labs should not altogether
replace the“ real world lab”, but
instead enhance.
Virtual labs should not completely
replace the real lab, because student
may miss out on the hands on
experience that could be a value in
later education.

19. Make sure virtual labs are
accessible to students.
Virtual labs need to be accessible
because they provide students that
are not physically able to in the
classroom a chance to learn
content in a meaningful way.

20. All virtual labs are not created equal;
some may not be appropriate for a
particular classroom or be well
designed. There is criticism that come
virtual labs are a mere replacement
for text or are overly cheesy.

21. Each needs to be examined to
make sure that it matches the
content being taught, will keep
students interested, and provides a
form of interaction that could be
normally be easily conducted in the
classroom.