SUMMARY As computer and networking technology has improved, computer-mediated communication and distance learning (DL) have become more prevalent. Software is used in a DL environment to replace traditional laboratory exercises. Software simulation provides wide-scale access to laboratory exercises at a low cost. However, simulations do not adequately replace all aspects of the real laboratory environment. This paper reviews DL alternatives to real laboratories and discusses whether the present alternatives successfully give students the experience of real laboratory experiments without physically attending a laboratory. The review found that present alternatives to real laboratories use software simulation, which do not accomplish the desired exposure to real lab environments in some disciplines, such as engineering. The paper presents an alternative to simulation, presently under development by the authors, in which real laboratory facilities can be accessed remotely via the Internet. These real physical laboratories provide the one dimension that simulation cannot: real response of real physical elements to real inputs.
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