Work in progress — A program to incorporate portable labs into lecture-based electrical and computer engineering courses

This Work in Progress paper describes the Teaching Enhancement via Small-Scale Affordable Labs (TESSAL) Center at Georgia Tech. This center is devoted to the development and implementation of distributed labs, that is, experiments that can be done by students at home or in the classroom. The objective is to introduce experiment-based active learning into typical lecture-based courses. A total of 1264 students at Georgia Tech have participated in TESSAL activities, and assessment is underway to determine its effectiveness in enhancing the learning of fundamental concepts and in inspiring the students in the topics being taught. This paper describes the best practices for implementing distributed labs as well as the infrastructure needed to support the labs: logistical plans, instructor resources, student resources, and web-based support.