The Bachelor's Degree in Electronic and Control Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of Teruel (“Escuela Universitaria Politécnica de Teruel”, EUPT), University of Zaragoza, offers a blended learning option. One of the main challenges of that option is the development of laboratory sessions. In the Electronic Instrumentation course the laboratory sessions can be divided into two groups. The first group is devoted to developing Data Acquisition Systems using a Data Acquisition (DAQ) Card. The Python language is utilized to control the card. The second group is devoted to set up several circuits that are typically used in instrumentation, such as amplifiers and filters, together with the use of temperature sensors (thermocouple, diode). In this paper, the work carried out to allow students to develop online laboratory work in the Electronic Instrumentation course is presented. Students can perform some of the laboratory sessions remotely. The system is based on several items. On the one hand, a virtual machine infrastructure has been built at the EUPT. More than 100 Virtual Machines (VM) can be executed simultaneously. Moreover, it can grant access to physical PCs in laboratories as if they were VM. A broker manages the users, who get a personalized profile. A given user can only access some of the resources of the infrastructure depending on the subjects or research project they are involved in. This VM infrastructure serves all the EUPT virtual learning activities. On the other hand, two of the sessions of the first group in Electronic Instrumentation can be done remotely using the VM infrastructure and a DAQ card simulator developed by the authors. The first session is dedicated to learning the basic Python skills. The second session is dedicated to learning the basic mode of the DAQ card: pin configuration as digital or analog, pin configuration as input or output and command-response control of the card both for analog and digital pins. A graphical simulator developed in Python mimics the appearance of the DAQ card. It is controlled from a python console, just like the real physical device. The commands replicate the API provided by the manufacturer. The use of the simulator is also coherent and reproduces the errors that can be raised in the physical DAQ card. For instance, it is not possible to read an analog value from a pin that has been configured as digital or to set a digital value in an analog input, etc. Video Tutorials for the laboratory sessions have also been developed. In the paper, the design of both components, the VM infrastructure and the DAQ card simulator are explained in detail. The parts of the guided laboratory session are also outlined. The results of the last two years are also presented. All in all, the students are provided with a system that facilitates the practical learning of the course. They can access the VM at any time. Besides, they are not required to install any software because the access is from any browser. Once inside the virtual machine assigned to the course, the appearance is that of a linux operating system as in the real lab. Therefore, from this virtual machine they can program in Python and launch the simulator of the card, working in a very similar way to their classmates who follow the course in person.

Keywords: Technology, blended learning, Electronic Instrumentation.