NSU- LSMSA Makers Club: Advanced STEM Educational Modules and Enhanced Experiential Learning

This paper describes advanced educational activates of STEM makers club, which combines Northwestern State University (NSU) and The Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA). The main objective of this Makers Club is to make students excited about STEM and to increase the number of students who are interested in STEM related careers. The newly founded club (NSU-LSMSA Makers Club) emphasizes innovation and hands-on experience for all participants. Furthermore, it promotes building a spirit of teamwork and sharping problem-solving skills. Different teaching modules have been developed and applied. The paper presents various structured activities reports experiential learning from its participants.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Path planning algorithm for a car like robot based on Coronoi Diagram Method

The purpose of this study is to develop an efficient offline path planning algorithm that is capable of finding optimal collision-free paths from a starting point to a goal point. The algorithm is based on Voronoi diagram method for the environment representation combined with Dijkstra’s algorithm to find the shortest path. Since Voronoi diagram path exhibits sharp corners and redundant turns, path tracking was applied considering the robot’s kinematic constraints. The results has shown that the Voronoi diagram path planning method recorded fast computational time as it provides simpler, faster and efficient path finding. The final path, after considering robot’s kinematic constraints, provides shorter path length and smoother compared to the original one. The final path can be tuned to the desired path by tuning the parameter setting; velocity, v and minimum turning radius, Rmin. In comparison with the Cell Decomposition method, it shows that Voronoi diagram has a faster computation time. This leads to the reduced cost in terms of time. The findings of this research have shown that Voronoi Diagram and Dijkstra’s Algorithm are a good combination in the path planning problem in terms of finding a safe and shortest path

Teaching An Electrical Circuits Course Using A Virtual Lab

This paper describes designing and implementing a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) study in a basic electrical circuits course at LaGuardia Community College. Inspired by my understanding of Shulman’s (2005) concept of “signature pedagogy” and Mazur’s (2009) emphasis on student-centered approaches, and aware that our students did not always understand the electrical theory concepts presented in class, I decided to change my pedagogy. We explain our efforts to train our students to think as engineers, first by making them more “visible” and “accountable” in the classroom, and second, by offering them hands-on practice through the use of Multisim, a free and open source simulation software. The study presented here reports the effect that using Multisim had on our students’ ability to learn and apply electrical theories and concepts. The implications for the teaching of the basic electrical circuit course are offered as well as my reflection on my own growth as a teacher and my developing understanding of the scholarship of teaching and learning

Enhancing The Learning Experience In A Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology Course

Rapidly changing technology advances demand the revisions of engineering and technology courses so that they continue to serve students and industry in a relevant way. In a typical engineering technology department, students from different majors are usually required to take an introductory electrical engineering course. Due to the multidisciplinary background of students, such a course has traditionally been a challenge to teach so as to make it interesting and useful to all students. Therefore innovative teaching methods have to be employed in order to accommodate different backgrounds and learning styles. In our department, a basic electrical engineering course is offered for sophomore students majoring in mechanical and electrical engineering technology. The course is usually taught in the fall and is meant to be an introductory course for EET students but also serves as a survey of electrical engineering for MET students. Because of this duality, the course has to be carefully designed, especially the laboratory component, to keep students interested and engaged throughout the semester. Topics covered include dc and ac circuits, Wheatstone bridge, electric machines, resonance circuits, RLC transient response, basic operation of electronics and digital circuits including diodes, transistors, power supplies, amplifiers, and logic gates. In this paper, we describe our experience teaching the course and how the redesign of the laboratory component has greatly enhanced the student learning experience independently of their majors of studies. Results showed that activities relating concepts to real world applications were more appealing. For instance, students enjoyed performing experiments involving the use of transducers such as strain gauges. Assessments results to meet certain accreditation criteria including direct and indirect measurements are also discussed with emphasis on the successes and lessons learned from the implementation process

The Effect Of Different Written Task Instructions On Students’ Scores In A Physical And Virtual Environment

Electronic laboratory activities offer opportunities to help students learn about concepts and develop practical competencies in electronic circuit systems. Evidence in the literature suggests that the effectiveness of laboratory activities might be affected by the type of instructions provided (explicit or implicit), and the lab environment (physical or virtual) in which the activities were performed. This study investigated the effect of different written task instructions (explicit versus implicit) and lab environment (physical versus virtual) on students’ scores in an electronic circuit task. This study was a quantitative experiment that used a repeated measure factorial design to determine how the written instructions used in different environments affected students’ scores. Study results showed that there was no statistical significant difference in scores when students were presented with implicitly or explicitly written instructions. Similarly, results indicated no significant difference in scores when students used either physical or virtual environments. However, the computed effect size revealed that virtual environments might have a slightly higher effect on students’ scores. These results suggest that the type of written instructions presented and the lab environment used may not have significantly affected students’ scores

THE USE OF MODERN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING ELECTRONICS

The paper presents systems created in the software environment are tested in terms of operation and the operating parameters. The testing also includes the faithfulness of representing the actual circuit operation. Students work with these circuits during laboratory classes of Introduction to Electronics. The results of measurements obtained during the classes are compared with the results obtained by students when working with simulated electronic circuits. The results of students’work carried out with the two methods were assessed.

Virtual Electronics Laboratory for Visualized Education and Training

On-line education is utilized extensively and has been found to be effective in a multitude of subject areas, including engineering education. However, for on-line education to be fully effective in engineering education, a means must be developed to provide on-line students with laboratory experiences that achieve the same learning outcomes as face-to-face laboratories. To address this need, a pilot computer program, Project VELVET (Virtual Electronics Laboratory for Visualized Education and Training), for a virtual electronics laboratory is being developed. VELVET operates on Windows-based computers in a real-time environment. It presents to its user a virtual breadboard into which components may be inserted. A dc power supply and a signal generator are available to supply energy and signals to circuits, and measurements may be made with a virtual millimeters and a virtual oscilloscope. The algorithm and sample screen images of the program are presented in this thesis

Implement a laboratory workshop in physics and electrotechnical disciplines in the face of COVID-19 pandemic

Studying physics and many related disciplines at all education levels includes not only learning the theoretical material, but also the formation of skills and abilities to apply the knowledge gained in practice. This occurs mainly during laboratory work when students directly contact with specific laboratory equipment. With the forced transition to distance learning due to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, the main difficulties in many universities arose precisely during the implementation of laboratory workshops. This study analyzed the possibilities of modern digital teaching aids for the effective remote implementation of a laboratory workshop in physics and related disciplines. The study was carried out on the basis of the Elabuga Institute of the Kazan Federal University. There were 79 students took part in the experiment (second and third-year students). The results showed that a well-arranged combination of various digital tools and technologies makes it possible to effectively implement laboratory works in physics and electrotechnical disciplines in a distance learning format. The research results are useful for university teachers using distance learning technologies in laboratory work in natural science disciplines

Undergraduate students' perceptions of the use of simulation software through online learning in colleges of engineering during the covid-19 pandemic: A case study at al-Balqa applied university, Jordan.

Students at Al-Balqa' Applied University, Jordan, are being interviewed about their experiences with online simulation software during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this study, a descriptive method was employed. 667 undergraduate students were asked to fill out a 25-item questionnaire. During the Covid-19 epidemic, undergraduate students showed a modest level of proficiency in using simulation software via online instruction, according to the study's findings. Al-Balqa' Applied University undergraduate students' perspectives vary according to gender (in favor of females) and discipline, according to the findings (in favor of the Electrical engineering discipline.). Academic evaluation, on the other hand, does not show any statistically significant differences amongst pupils. As a result, there appears to be no statistically significant difference in academic evaluation across pupils (GPA). It's important to do more research like this one on simulation software implementation in higher education institutions, according to this study

Genuine lab experiences for students in resource constrained environments: The RealLab with integrated intelligent assessment.

Laboratory activities are indispensable for developing engineering skills. Computer Aided Learning (CAL) tools can be used to enhance laboratory learning in various ways, the latest approach being the virtual laboratory technique that emulates traditional laboratory processes. This new approach makes it possible to give students complete and genuine laboratory experiences in situations constrained by limited resources in the provision of laboratory facilities and infrastructure and/or where there is need for laboratory education, for large classes, with only one laboratory stand. This may especially be the case in countries in transition. Most existing virtual laboratories are not available for purchase. Where they are, they may not be cost friendly for resource constrained environments. Also, most do not integrate any form of assessment structure. In this paper, we present a very cost friendly virtual laboratory solution for genuine laboratory experiences in resource constrained environments, with integrated intelligent assessment