VIOT_Lab: A Virtual Remote Laboratory for Internet of Things Based on ThingsBoard Platform

In March 2020, due to the pandemic linked to the COVID-19 virus spreading, all in-person teaching activities planned at the University of Salerno were suspended. This sudden suspension has forced the academic world to rethink in a short time the didactics and to modify teaching styles and approaches, especially in those courses in which laboratory activities were planned. This article will be presented the experiences made in the Computer Networks and Protocols for the Internet of Things (IoT) course. The course includes a significant laboratory component where students must put into practice what they learned during the theoretical lessons. In particular, the laboratory exercises involve using specific equipment and devices that can build digital ecosystems for the control and management of well-defined operational contexts difficult to reproduce virtually. Therefore, to give continuity to the didactic activity, it was necessary to redesign the entire exercise system preserving the original educational objectives.