Asynchronous software systems projected to support teaching and learning in higher education

Virtual labs are more likely to offer a user friendly environment as well as greater flexibility, allowing students to carry out experiments and repeat them as often as necessary. Nevertheless, they do not discard the need for a conventional system as traditional labs are a valuable asset. In this context, the student is the centre of the whole process, taking on the main role and is responsible for his/her own learning process, although there may be an extra support through in-class sessions in order to keep him/her in contact with the system, to offer guidance and motivation for the challenges ahead. One of the advantages of virtual experimentation is the opportunity of using a lab in situations which might be impossible otherwise, allowing students to take part in lab sessions; another one is related with its use to improve learning results. Virtual experimentation labs create flexible learning environments suitable for different types of learners, allowing the interactive and systematic development of competences in the various areas of learning and can be used to complement the conventional type of lectures. VEMA is a practical asynchronous software tool devised to meet the needs of students who can't be present in regular lab classes in the Electrical Engineering Department of ISEC (Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra).