A Pattern Approach to Understand Group Collaboration in Hands-on and Remote Laboratories

We identify patterns of group collaboration within hands-on and remote laboratories. The pattern of group collaboration includes three elements: the collaboration mode, the communication medium and the collaboration structure. In addition, we examine how patterns of group collaboration evolved during different phases of the labs. Based upon our observation of 22 engineering students, we found two common patterns of the collaboration mode in both hands-on labs and remote labs: in one case, students seem to minimize cognitive effort, and in the other, they continue to do what they have been doing before. We also described the different types of communication media and collaboration structure in the two labs. Face-to-face meetings were found to be the dominant method of group communication in both labs, but students adopted a wider variety of communication methods when working with remote labs, and they interacted more with each other when they ran remote labs

Moving hands-on mechanical engineering experiences online: Course redesigns and student perspectives

Hands-on lab experiences are essential for enabling students to be successful engineers, especially those who identify as kinesthetic learners. This case study describes how a Mechanical Engineering Practice course sequence was redesigned during the COVID-19 emergency transition to remote learning and examines how students responded to these changes. The remote course included videos of Graduate Teaching Assistants conducting data acquisition phases of the practice session to replace hands-on experiments. To understand student perspectives and performance, researchers reviewed approximately 400 reflective essays from Spring 2020 and compared assignment submissions between Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. Results suggest that some students perceived the loss of hands-on activities as detrimental to their learning and it was not comparable to face-to-face counterparts. Furthermore, students felt forced to develop self-directed learning skills. However, in contrast to student comments in reflective essays, comparisons of assignment submissions suggested that students in Spring 2020 did not receive lower grades or have a reduced demonstration of conceptual knowledge obtained in the course

Experimentação Remota em Atividades de Ensino Formal: um Estudo a Partir de Periódicos Qualis A

É apresentado nesse trabalho um estado da arte sobre o uso da Experimentação Remota no ensino formal, a partir do levantamento e análise de trabalhos sobre o assunto em revistas e periódicos de Ensino e Educação, no Brasil e no exterior. O intuito é investigar se (e como) os laboratórios remotos estão sendo utilizados no ensino, particularmente, no ensino de Física. Foram selecionados e analisados artigos de periódicos Qualis A nacionais e internacionais, entre os anos 2000 e 2009. No desenvolvimento de nosso trabalho não encontramos relatos de pesquisa sobre acesso remoto a experimentos para a área de Física ou de como isso pode incrementar o processo de ensino e aprendizagem dessa disciplina. Desta forma, as eventuais limitações na utilização desta ferramenta no ensino devem ser estudadas de forma aprofundada e suas potencialidades exploradas no sentido de suprir as necessidades de uma aula prática

Student Reaction to a Modified Force Concept Inventory: The Impact of Free-Response Questions and Feedback

The study investigated student reaction to the alternative mechanics survey (AMS), a modified force concept inventory, which used automatically marked free-response questions and offered limited feedback to students after their answers had been submitted. Eight participants were observed in completing the AMS, and they were interviewed to gain insight into what had been observed; the resultant data set was analyzed by thematic analysis. This revealed six key themes: “use of free-response questions supported deep learning”, “interpretation of the AMS instructions affected answer length”, “the idea of being marked by a computer did not affect answer structure”, “participant reaction to the usability of the AMS was mostly positive”, “reactions to the AMS depended upon what participants thought it was for”, and “limited feedback was a useful addition to the AMS”. Participants gave answers of differing length, being guided by the question wording as well as by their own preferences. It was found that participants valued being given feedback on their performance. Participants reacted positively to the free-response questions and could see potential for the use of this question type, opening up possibilities for the use of automatically marked free-response questions in concept inventories in the future

Are Virtual Laboratories and Remote Laboratories Enhancing the Quality of Sustainability Education?

Sustainability education, a multidisciplinary field demanding a profound understanding of intricate scientific, engineering, social and economic systems, necessitates innovative approaches. Laboratory experimentation plays a pivotal role in engineering and scientific education. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic heightened the importance of remote learning and home-based study in pedagogical practices. However, engineering education has faced challenges in adapting to novel teaching methodologies. A significant challenge during lockdowns was the effective delivery of laboratory experiences in virtual spaces. Virtual and remote laboratories, while not substituting the hands-on experience of physical labs, offered promising avenues to enhance learning during the disruption of in-person education. While most teaching activities transitioned seamlessly to online formats, laboratory sessions presented unique logistical challenges, including cancellations of fieldwork. Additionally, concerns arose regarding disparities in student achievement based on income levels. This study seeks to provide an overview of the implementation status of virtual and remote laboratories during the lockdown period in education. Its goal is to offer practical insights to improve the quality of learning experiences at home and in online settings

Development of Solar Experiments with Remote Laboratory Capability for Engineering Education of the Future

Educating future engineers will be handled differently as this modern society has various methods of doing so and a plethora of knowledge to pursue. The availability of computers and internet has changed many things. A subject that is relevant in today’s world but not common to most people and some engineers is solar energy. As part of a grant from the National Science Foundation that was awarded to Louisiana State University (LSU), Florida State University (FSU), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the UNLV Center for Energy Research partnered with them to create solar application based learning modules. Two solar water heating systems have been constructed to operate in the Las Vegas climate, specifically, a system with an evacuated tube collector and another with a flat plate collector. Another experiment that characterizes the performance of four different photovoltaic panels has been repurposed to our needs. Finally, an Amonix concentrating photovoltaic system that is a part of the Center for Energy Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas is part of our effort. The purpose of these three types of experiments is to provide data in a manner like students would receive conducting an experiment in a laboratory, but it will be available to them remotely over the internet. This ability allows others to learn and analyze information from a system that most do not have physical access to. In addition to the mentioned systems future ones can be added, for example, a concentrating solar thermal system like a solar oven, solar dish, or parabolic trough. When this capability is combined with the related ones being developed at LSU and FSU, where each school is developing unique experiments, it will make a variety of remote experiences available. Another aspect is that this remote laboratory capability gives a student an exploratory mindset that there is more out there than what is available in laboratories on campus/available to them in-person. The systems have data logging so there is constant recording and availability to prospective users, which makes this laboratory quite robust. Its data will be available online along with resources on the system, subject, and analysis. This will be in a module type compilation, for educational purposes, because it was established as a part of the aforementioned partnership with other universities to provide materials on a website. Assistance can be sought out by prospective users who are having trouble with the subject matter, and if users want to try something different on the systems, they could request that. As part of the changing educational environment, it will be discussed how this approach with possible other modules would affect engineering education. The effectiveness of this education and experimentation will take time to evaluate, and it will be outlined here how this can be characterized. Recommendations for integrating these types of experiments and capabilities into education will be proposed and analyzed

Remote experiments, re-versioning and re-thinking science learning

Science and engineering students’ involvement in practical work contributes to the development of their understanding of the concepts and processes of science. The Practical Experimentation by Accessible Remote Learning (PEARL) project aimed to develop a system to enable students to conduct real-world experiments at a distance using a computer. We explored methods of extending the flexibility of laboratory teaching in terms of time and location, and of meeting the requirements of students with special needs. This involved the development of remote experiments at four Universities. This paper uses one of the four experiments, spectroscopy for introductory science in a distance learning setting, to illustrate the process of developing remote experiments. We describe the evaluation work leading to refinement of the design, and an assessment of the learning experience for students. This paper presents the findings of the validation phases of the project which have established the feasibility of the remote experiment approach

Análise do uso dos laboratórios de experimentação remota como ferramenta de apoio à aprendizagem

This work presents three papers related to the use of technology to support learning tools, with emphasis on the use of remote experimentation laboratories. The first article provides a literature search and observatory on the difficulties in the use of learning support tools. The second article deals with is an exploratory study that analyzes the literature review on the relevance of the use of remote experimentation as a learning tool. The remote experimentation is based on environments that are conventional laboratory experiments that have gone through an automation process so that they could be remotely controlled by computerized devices. The remote experimentation projects were created as an alternative to experiments or simulations based on the use of traditional laboratories. Remote experiments are mediated by computer, and can be performed anywhere, as in the simulations, but in a remote lab the student is controlling a real physical apparatus, and get real data from a physical experience. Faced with the possibility of using simulators or traditional laboratories, this study aims to verify the relevance of the use of remote experimentation as a teaching tool. The literature review was performed with the execution of necessary and well-structured steps, with clear criteria and critically assessed, through the identification studies in eight different databases. The second paper describes the experience of using remote experimentation in a class of physical discipline for high school students who live and study in the Community Quilombola Lagoa da Pedra in city of Arraias (TO). The aim of this study was to observe the behavior and reports of students and teachers during the presentation of remote experimentation lab. Remote Testing enables remotely and in real time, using laboratory experiments with non-existing resources in school, and that are essential for students to deepen their theoretical knowledge with practical experience. Based on these results, we present the research contribution and significant gains in teaching and learning process, and the importance of inclusion of Educational Technologies in community without major technological resources. Keywords: Remote Testing, Tools for learning, educational technologies.Esse trabalho apresenta três artigos científicos relacionados ao uso de ferramentas tecnológicas de apoio à aprendizagem, com ênfase no uso de laboratórios de experimentação remota. O primeiro artigo traz uma pesquisa bibliográfica e observatória sobre as dificuldades do uso das ferramentas de apoio à aprendizagem. O segundo artigo trata-se de estudo exploratório que faz uma análise da revisão da literatura sobre a utilização da experimentação remota como ferramenta de aprendizagem. Essa análise foi realizada com a execução de passos necessários e bem estruturados, com critérios bem definidos e criticamente avaliados, através da identificação de estudos em oito bases de dados diferentes. O terceiro artigo relata a experiência do uso da experimentação remota em uma aula da disciplina de física para alunos do ensino médio que vivem e estudam na Comunidade Quilombola Lagoa da Pedra em Arraias (TO). O objetivo desse estudo específico foi observar o comportamento e os relatos dos alunos e professores durante a apresentação do laboratório de experimentação remota. A experimentação remota é baseada em ambientes que são laboratórios experimentais convencionais que passaram por um processo de automatização para que pudessem ser controlados remotamente através de dispositivos computadorizados. Os projetos de experimentação remota foram criados como uma alternativa a experimentos baseados em simulações ou na utilização de laboratórios tradicionais. Os experimentos remotos são mediados por computador, e podem ser executados em qualquer lugar, como nas simulações, porém em um laboratório remoto o aluno está controlando um aparato físico real, e obtém dados reais de uma experiência física. Diante da possibilidade da utilização de simuladores ou laboratórios tradicionais, este estudo tem o objetivo de analisar o uso da experimentação remota como instrumento de ensino. A Experimentação Remota possibilita à distância e em tempo real, a utilização de experimentos laboratoriais com recursos não existentes na escola, e que são essenciais aos alunos para aprofundar o conhecimento teórico com experiências práticas. Diante dos resultados obtidos, apresenta-se a contribuição da pesquisa e os ganhos significativos no processo de ensino e aprendizagem, e a importância VIII da inclusão de Tecnologias Educacionais em comunidade sem grandes recursos tecnológicos