{"id":32387,"date":"2026-06-18T08:48:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/?p=32387"},"modified":"2026-06-18T08:51:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:51:03","slug":"how-a-large-u-s-university-scales-hands-on-ee-labs-to-1500-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/how-a-large-u-s-university-scales-hands-on-ee-labs-to-1500-students\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Large U.S. University Scales Hands-On EE Labs to 1,500+ Students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">A large U.S. university with over 1,400 undergraduate electrical engineering students has developed a scalable approach to delivering hands-on lab experiences &#8211; both on campus and fully online.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Serving a growing population of working professionals and remote learners, the program needed a way to maintain rigorous, practical lab work without relying solely on physical lab spaces.<\/p>\n<h3>The Challenge<\/h3>\n<p>Traditional lab models presented several limitations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Limited access to in-person lab facilities for online students<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty scaling hands-on experiences across large cohorts<\/li>\n<li>Inconsistent student access to equipment and tools<\/li>\n<li>Over-reliance on simulation-based learning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The department needed a solution that could:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Enable real circuit experimentation anywhere<\/li>\n<li>Support multiple courses and skill levels<\/li>\n<li>Provide consistent tooling across modalities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Solution<\/h3>\n<p>To address these challenges, the program adopted the <a href=\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/shop\/analog-discovery-3-student-bundle\/\">Analog Discovery 3 (AD3) with parts kits<\/a>, which are required for online students.<\/p>\n<p>The platform is integrated across a sequence of courses, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Circuits I (RLC fundamentals)<\/li>\n<li>Circuits II (nonlinear and transistor-based circuits)<\/li>\n<li>Advanced circuits courses<\/li>\n<li>Digital electronics and FPGA coursework<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This consistent toolchain allows students to build foundational skills and apply them across disciplines.<\/p>\n<h3>Enabling Flexible, Take-Home Labs<\/h3>\n<p>Students use the AD3 in a mix of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Traditional in-lab environments<\/li>\n<li>Take-home lab assignments<\/li>\n<li>Python-supported coding projects<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>WaveForms software plays a critical role in accessibility. Its intuitive interface and cross-platform compatibility, especially for macOS users, reduce setup barriers and allow students to focus on learning.<\/p>\n<h3>Rethinking Assessment<\/h3>\n<p>The program has moved beyond traditional lab reports to more dynamic evaluation methods, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Student-recorded video walkthroughs of circuits<\/li>\n<li>Screenshots of waveform outputs and measurement data<\/li>\n<li>Verbal explanations of design choices and troubleshooting steps<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This approach emphasizes both technical accuracy and engineering communication.<\/p>\n<h3>Real-World Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<p>Students develop the ability to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Construct circuits based on defined parameters<\/li>\n<li>Measure, generate, and analyze real signal data<\/li>\n<li>Transition between simulation and physical systems<\/li>\n<li>Identify and resolve real-world implementation issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Common challenges, such as wiring errors or incorrect components, are intentionally part of the learning process, reinforcing debugging and problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n<h3>Supporting Long-Term Student Success<\/h3>\n<p>Beyond coursework, students frequently adopt the AD3 for capstone projects, extending its value beyond the classroom and into independent design work.\u00a0By enabling consistent, hands-on learning at scale, the program prepares students for real engineering environments while supporting the needs of modern, flexible education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class='watch-action'><div class='watch-position align-left'><div class='action-like'><a class='lbg-style6 like-32387 jlk' data-task='like' data-post_id='32387' data-nonce='d580e33fd1' rel='nofollow'><img src='https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wti-like-post-pro\/images\/pixel.gif' title='Like' \/><span class='lc-32387 lc'>0<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class='action-unlike'><a class='unlbg-style6 unlike-32387 jlk' data-task='unlike' data-post_id='32387' data-nonce='d580e33fd1' rel='nofollow'><img src='https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wti-like-post-pro\/images\/pixel.gif' title='Unlike' \/><span class='unlc-32387 unlc'>0<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div> <div class='status-32387 status align-left'>Be the 1st to vote.<\/div><\/div><div class='wti-clear'><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A large U.S. university with over 1,400 undergraduate electrical engineering students has developed a scalable approach to delivering hands-on lab experiences &#8211; both on campus and fully online. Serving a &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":32388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,20,4267,4326],"tags":[4432,5393,4433,5083,5395,5401,5409,5400,5396,5388,5407,5394,5397,5403,5402,5399,5008,5391,5404,5405,5410,5392,5398,5406,5389,5408,5390,5411,5377,5146],"ppma_author":[4458],"class_list":["post-32387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academia","category-products","category-featured","category-teaching-training","tag-ad3","tag-adk3-kit","tag-analog-discovery-3","tag-case-study","tag-circuit-design-education","tag-circuits-courses","tag-debugging-skills","tag-digital-electronics-labs","tag-ee-curriculum","tag-electrical-engineering-education","tag-engineering-capstone-projects","tag-engineering-lab-solutions","tag-engineering-labs-at-scale","tag-engineering-student-outcomes","tag-experiential-learning","tag-fpga-education","tag-hands-on-learning","tag-hybrid-learning","tag-lab-accessibility","tag-mac-compatible-engineering-software","tag-modern-engineering-education","tag-online-engineering-programs","tag-oscilloscopes-in-education","tag-python-in-engineering-education","tag-remote-labs","tag-simulation-vs-physical-circuits","tag-take-home-labs","tag-use-case","tag-waveform-analysis","tag-waveforms-software"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Designer-2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":4458,"user_id":64,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kdokes","display_name":"Kyli Dokes","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cdb921328f1f23c751c9aa761dd1673ff76a87dbdf54738433573ad284fc2f12?s=96&d=mm&r=g","1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":"","9":"","10":""}],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32387"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32392,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32387\/revisions\/32392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32387"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=32387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}