Distance Learning Laboratory Course on Embedded Systems

Low-level hardware oriented labs are quite cumbersome to carry out. More problems arise when implementing such a course in a distance learning environment like provided by the University of Hagen, Germany's only public distance learning institution. We developed two lab courses in the area of computer engineering: Embedded Systems Lab and FPGA Programming Lab. The former is presented in this paper describing its content, problems, and future development in detail. Beyond that, the programming environment is discussed. We decided to build a Virtual Machine including all necessary software for this lab to simplify support and to provide the same programming environment for all participants.