Providing equivalent learning activities with software-based remote access laboratories

Laboratory-based learning activities are important components of engineering and surveying education and it is difficult to offering practical activities to distance education students. Remote Access Laboratory (RAL) systems are widely discussed as learning tools to offer students remote access to rigs or hardware. In some disciplines laboratory activities are purely software based and RAL systems can be used to provide access to software. As part of a larger study into the transferability of the remote laboratory concept to non-engineering disciplines this project evaluates the effectiveness of RAL based software activities in supporting student learning is investigated. In the discipline of Surveying and Spatial Science, RAL technology is used to provide Geographic Information System software access to distance students. The key research question discussed in this paper is whether RALbased software activities can address the same learning outcomes as face-to-face practical classes for software activities. Data was collected from students' discussion forums, teaching staff diaries and teaching staff interviews. The project demonstrates that students undertaking learning activities remotely achieve similar learning outcomes than student in practice classes using the same software. Ease of system access and usability are critical and the learning activity needs to be supported by comprehensive learning materials. This research provides a clear case in which the use of RAL technology has provided inclusive educational opportunities more efficiently and these general results are also applicable to experiments that involve physical hardware

A framework for interpreting experimental errors in VISIR

Students usually do errors while performing experiments. In traditional, hands-on labs, instructors are able to help students surpass those errors. In non-traditional labs, like virtual labs or simulations, the support is usually provided by built-in mechanisms that prevent erroneous actions or that provide some sort of online assistance. In remote labs, like the Virtual Instruments Systems in Reality (VISIR) remote lab, the same principle applies. This paper describes the very initial stage of a framework for interpreting experimental errors done in VISIR. It considers the course syllabus of electrical circuits and situates the work done till the moment, in relation to that syllabus. Future work is also addressed.Partially supported by the European Commission, through grant 561735-EPP-1-2015-1-PT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP, and by the Foundation for Science and Technology Project, FCT UID/EQU/04730/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Barriers and facilitators for treatment-seeking for mental health conditions and substance misuse:Multi-perspective focus group study within the military

Background Globally, millions are exposed to stressors at work that increase their vulnerability to develop mental health conditions and substance misuse (such as soldiers, policemen, doctors). However, these types of professionals especially are expected to be strong and healthy, and this contrast may worsen their treatment gap. Although the treatment gap in the military has been studied before, perspectives of different stakeholders involved have largely been ignored, even though they play an important role. Aims To study the barriers and facilitators for treatment-seeking in the military, from three different perspectives. Method In total, 46 people participated, divided into eight homogeneous focus groups, including three perspectives: soldiers with mental health conditions and substance misuse (n = 20), soldiers without mental health conditions and substance misuse (n = 10) and mental health professionals (n = 16). Sessions were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was done by applying a general inductive approach using ATLAS.ti-8.4.4 software. Results Five barriers for treatment-seeking were identified: fear of negative career consequences, fear of social rejection, confidentiality concerns, the ‘strong worker’ workplace culture and practical barriers. Three facilitators were identified: social support, accessibility and knowledge, and healthcare within the military. The views of the different stakeholder groups were highly congruent. Conclusions Barriers for treatment-seeking were mostly stigma related (fear of career consequences, fear of social rejection and the ‘strong worker’ workplace culture) and this was widely recognised by all groups. Social support from family, peers, supervisors and professionals were identified as important facilitators. A decrease in the treatment gap for mental health conditions and substance misuse is needed and these findings provide direction for future research and destigmatising interventions

Fomento de las competencias experimentales utilizando recursos complementarios

[EN]The use of ICT in the academic context is a reality, in the world we live in. The young generation of students is digital native, being immersed in a virtual world during a considerable part of their day. This has an impact in their life, including on their education. In undergraduate engineering education laboratory classes are an integral part of its curriculum. These days, many laboratory classes combine traditional hands-on labs with online labs (remote and virtual labs) and several experimental resources. A “blended” or “hybrid” approach to experimental learning seems the most effective to (students’) experimental learning and the development of competences. Still this technologically mediated resource affects the way students learn and in the literature there is still a lack of works, considering the characterization of didactical implementations using a “blended” or “hybrid” approach and its impact in students’ learning and the way they construct their knowledge. In the Electric and Electronic Engineering topic and using the remote laboratory VISIR there are really very few works, reported in literature, describing some small scaled didactical experiments. The problematic which motivated this work was the need to understand the impact of different didactical approaches using this methodology (simultaneous use of several experimental resources) has on students’ academic results. Ultimately this work intends to contribute to fill a gap identified in the literature: identify factors (including some eventual students’ characteristics) which affect students’ learning and engagement in the electric and electronic circuits topic using the remote lab VISIR along with other complementary resources. To accomplish this end, four research questions where posed, each of them taking into account a set of factors in a specific field of inquiry and its influence on students’ results. The first research question approached the way the several experimental resources could be combined and its effect on students. The second dealt with the influence of the proposed VISIR tasks characteristics on students’ results. The third tackled important teacher mediation traces that could be linked to better students’ performance. And finally, the last research question investigates if there were students’ characteristics that were more associated with good learning outcomes and engagement. Considering the former objectives, it was chosen a multi-case study research methodology, using a mixed method approach, resourcing mainly to questionnaire, interview, documental analysis and observation as data gathering methods, and statistical analysis (descriptive and inferential) and content analysis, as data analysis techniques. A large-scale study analysis was conducted, including 26 courses (in a total of 43 didactical implementations using VISIR, as some of the courses have undergone more than one course implementation edition), comprising 1794 students and involving 52 different teachers. This study took place in several Higher Education Institutions (and at a minor extent, in some Technological and High Schools) in Argentina, Brazil and Portugal. In the southern hemisphere these didactical implementations happened in the 2016 and 2017 academic years while in the northern hemisphere it was possible to collect data from three semesters between 2016/17 and 2018/19 academic years. The study focused on analysing each didactical implementation (their characteristics, teachers’ usage and perception) and the matching students’ results (usage, academic results and perception). Ethical questions to guarantee both students’ and teachers’ privacy was taken care of, when using the data of the participants. The former data was only used for the purposes of this study and the state of the participation was reflected anonymously, which can be observed both in the information collected for the analysis as well as in the transcripts along the text. The study included the analysis of the collected data from various sources, the interpretation of its results using several analysis techniques, and the convergence in a process of triangulation. These results, after discussed with literature, allowed to answer in the most possible complete way the four research questions. Based on them, conclusions were drawn to identify factors that may foster students’ learning and engagement. The study also contributed to the advancement of knowledge in this research area. It allowed to conclude that VISIR and this methodology can be as useful for introductory courses as for more advanced ones (dealing with this thematic) as long as teachers plan the didactical implementation according to the type of course and students’ background. Plus, this methodology based upon VISIR can be applied with high success to courses that do not have an experimental component, nor its contents are directly related to the Electricity and Electronics topic. In these courses VISIR can be used with the purpose of contextualization, providing more interesting and appealing learning environments (e.g. theoretical mathematical courses). Finally, both teachers’ perception and students’ results suggest VISIR target public seems to be the students that require more support in their learning, that is, the students still struggling with difficulties than the more proficient students

AN INVESTIGATION OF E-PORTFOLIO IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MALAYSIAN SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMME (MSTP)

The Malaysian Skills Training Programme (MSTP) is a sub-division of Malaysian Vocational and Training Education (VET) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Human Resource, Malaysia. The programme was developed to prepare skilled workers for employment in the ‘blue collar’ sector. The Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and the UNESCO-UNEVOC believe that the VET should be upgraded to offer a more professional service in which ICT (Information and Communication Technology) applications such as electronic learning need to be explored and harnessed (Kafka & Dale, 2013). This thesis investigates the implementation of an electronic portfolio (E-portfolio) in one accredited Skills Training Institution in Malaysia. The research aim was to deploy an E-portfolio which was developed using MAHARA software with several skills training courses in one training semester. The idea of a ‘threshold concept’ was adopted to provide guidelines to direct the E-portfolio development and implementation. Kolb’s Experiential Learning (KEL) and Competency Based Training (CBT) were the main reference theories informing the design of the E-portfolio process of use. Based on quasi-experimental design, the system’s implementation included groups of students in 2013 and 2014 cohorts. Upon completion, the use of the E-portfolio was evaluated to determine the system’s impact and its effectiveness in the teaching and learning process. A mixed methods research approach was used, consisting of assessment rubrics, survey questionnaires, e-mail interviews, online communication and document reviews. A respondent’s validation based approach called a ‘report-and-respond enquiry’ was executed at the end of data analysis to validate the findings. Qualitative and quantitative data showed that the E-portfolio could contribute to the improvement of several aspects of teaching and training such as communication, reflection on practical work, motivation of learning, progress based learning, and the construction of new knowledge. In addition, senior staff believed that the use of an E-portfolio would benefit the institution by saving printing costs and enhancing the institution’s image to the public and to the awarding body. The findings suggested that, when blended with the current traditional training pedagogy, the E-portfolio system has the potential to be implemented as a showcase E-portfolio, used for online assessment or can be used as a teaching approach. The email interviews and Facebook communication revealed that user attitudes and the support required for the use of the E-portfolio are the biggest challenges. Based on these findings, a scaffolded approach to the implementation of E-portfolios in MSTP is recommended. The key outcomes of this research are the E-portfolio scaffolding strategies in the MSTP that could be deployed at other Skills Training institutions or organizations which intend to explore the use of E-portfolios in the future

Online Experimentation @ REV2012

In conferences, a participant is supposed to present his/her work to the audience in around 15-20 minutes. When the topics are in the experimental field multimedia components like pictures, video clips or animations are recommended to give to the experimental issues as much realism as possible. In topics like online engineering it is mandatory to have real resource demonstrations. A new model for specific conferences like those on online engineering topics, has been implemented. Participants are invited to get together and try to demonstrate their online resources