This article has been accepted for inclusion in a future issue of this journal. Content is final as presented, with the exception of pagination. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION 1 Experiential Learning of Digital Communication Using LabVIEW Wei Zhan, Senior Member, IEEE, Jay R. Porter, Senior Member, IEEE, and Joseph A. Morgan, Member, IEEE Abstract—This paper discusses the design and implementa- tion of laboratories and course projects using LabVIEW in an instrumentation course. The pedagogical challenge is to enhance students’ learning of digital communication using LabVIEW. LabVIEW was extensively used in the laboratory sessions, which better prepared students for the course projects. Two course projects were designed to familiarize the students with virtual instrumentation, data acquisition, Modbus communication, and simple closed-loop control. One project involved the instrumen- tation and control of a brushed dc permanent magnet motor; the other involved the instrumentation and control of a small-scale temperature chamber. Students used one computer, functioning as a Modbus slave, to measure the motor speed or temperature inside the chamber and to turn the motor or lightbulbs on and off. Another computer, functioning as a Modbus master, reads the measurements using Modbus communication protocol via RS-485 wires, compared the measurements to the set points, made control decisions, and sent the commands to the Modbus slave for actuation. The effectiveness of student learning is analyzed using student survey data. Index Terms—Digital communication, engineering education, experiential learning, instrumentation. I. INTRODUCTION B EING a practical discipline, engineering requires hands-on experience. Extensive discussions on the role of laboratory work in education have questioned how to strike a balance between theory and practice [1]. Laboratories can be expensive and time-consuming, while theoretical study can be boring and difficult to understand. However, without the fundamental understanding of theory, laboratory work can become an inefficient trial-and-error process. One solution proposed by many scholars is to use tools such as LabVIEW throughout engineering education programs. LabVIEW, developed by National Instruments (NI), is a data acquisition, instrumentation, and control programming tool widely used in industry. LabVIEW’s graphical programming environment, with its many software features and hardware options, is the main reason for its increasing popularity. Many researchers and engineers use LabVIEW for testing and rapid prototyping in the product development process [2]. In insti- tutions of higher education, LabVIEW can be used to help Manuscript received November 09, 2012; accepted May 02, 2013. The authors are with the Department of Engineering Technology and In- dustrial Distribution, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3367 USA (e-mail: zhan@entc.tamu.edu). Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TE.2013.2264059 students understand complex theories and connect these to practical problems. While instrumentation is primarily a focus of electrical engineering, the subject is used in nearly all engi- neering majors. The use of LabVIEW in the engineering curriculum for data acquisition, instrumentation, and control is well documented. LabVIEW has been used to teach Fourier transforms [3], analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) [4], thermodynamics [5], vibration measurements [6], telephone line encoders and de- coders [7], material testing [8], biomedical engineering [9], digital signal processing (DSP) [10], signals and systems [11], circuit analysis [12], dynamic systems and controls [13], mecha- tronics [14], and liquid level control [15]. It also has been used as a tool to teach engineering students introductory software programming [16], [17], problem solving [18], and digital logic [19]. Many multidisciplinary courses and projects have used LabVIEW as the data acquisition tool [20]. Porter et al. used LabVIEW as a means to link simulation and laboratory experiments and as a tool for troubleshooting measurement systems [21]. There have also been several implementations of LabVIEW remote panels and Runtime engine for remote access to laboratories through the Internet, for purposes such as distance education [22]–[25]. Naghedolfeizi et al. conducted an intensive survey on the subject of Web-enabled technologies, including LabVIEW, to build remote experiments [26]. Arthur and Sexton used LabVIEW to convert an old steam power plant and cooling tower into a state-of-the-art control system [27]. Quinn discussed the use of LabVIEW to provide early, contin- uous, and significant laboratory experiences for all engineering students throughout the freshman and sophomore years at Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA [28]. Several other scholars have made efforts to incorporate LabVIEW into the entire engineering curriculum [6], [29]–[32]. Erwin et al. pro- posed to use LabVIEW, together with LEGO materials, starting in kindergarten and continuing through graduate school [33]. The conclusions from these articles were overwhelmingly positive. LabVIEW allowed students to learn instrumentation concepts through meaningful hands-on experience. This paper describes how, in response to industry needs, an instrumentation course (ENTC359) in the Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering (EET) program in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distri- bution, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, was revamped to focus on digital instrumentation [34]. Two new course projects were created to provide students with hands-on experience in digital communication protocol using LabVIEW [35]. LabVIEW was chosen as the tool for the course projects due to its ability to provide hands-on experiences for 0018-9359/$31.00 © 2013 IEEE