Constructivist Multi-Access Lab Approach in Teaching FPGA Systems Design with LabVIEW

Embedded systems play vital role in modern applications [1]. They can be found in autos, washing machines, electrical appliances and even in toys. FPGAs are the most recent computing technology that is used in embedded systems. There is an increasing demand on FPGA based embedded systems, in particular, for applications that require rapid time responses. Engineering education curricula needs to respond to the increasing industrial demand of using FPGAs by introducing new syllabus for teaching and learning this subject. This paper describes the development of new course material for teaching FPGA-based embedded systems design by using ‘G’ Programming Language of LabVIEW. A general overview of FPGA role in engineering education is provided. A survey of available Hardware Programming Languages for FPGAs is presented. A survey about LabVIEW utilization in engineering education is investigated; this is followed by a motivation section of why to use LabVIEW graphical programming in teaching and its capabilities. Then, a section of choosing a suitable kit for the course is laid down. Later, constructivist closed-loop model the FPGA course has been proposed in accordance with [2- 4; 80,86,89,92]. The paper is proposing a pedagogical framework for FPGA teaching; pedagogical evaluation will be conducted in future studies. The complete study has been done at the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Aleppo University

Towards enhancing laboratory education by the development and evaluation of the "TriLab" : a triple access mode (virtual, hands-on and remote) laboratory

This thesis contributes to the general body of knowledge of research into engineering education. The main scope of the thesis is on enhancing laboratory education. There are three main types of laboratory: virtual, hands-on and remote. The hands-on lab is the oldest and most commonly used medium for experiential education in undergraduate degrees of science and engineering. The literature review of laboratory education has shown that hands-on labs suffer from many disadvantages, which can be overcome by utilizing hybrid laboratory structures that incorporate virtual and/or remote modes. The investigation into enhanced laboratory education is achieved via implementing new technical and pedagogical models of conducting laboratories. The technical model incorporates three access modes (virtual, hands-on and remote) to the laboratory experience in one software package called the TriLab. The TriLab concept has been applied to the Process Control Lab at the Chemical Engineering Department of Loughborough University and has been implemented using LabVIEW. The Joomla web content management system was used to develop an online portal for disseminating the remote component of the TriLab resulting in the first remote lab portal of Loughborough University and one of the few available in the UK. A pedagogical model of laboratory education based on Kolb's experiential learning theory and by the utilization of the TriLab concept is proposed. The model is built on a hypothesis, which states that the poor learning outcomes of hands-on laboratory sessions can be associated with poor activation of the stages of Kolb's experiential learning cycle. It has been proposed that access to a virtual lab in a preparatory session will play a role in activating the stages of Kolb's cycle. To verify this, educational experimentation procedures were designed and applied to two groups, control and experimental. Measurements via pre- and post-lab tests, marks for the laboratory report and the final exam of the module have been performed. The statistical analysis of the measurements has supported the stated hypothesis and solution proposal. The proposed pedagogical model is one of the few that provide a way of conducting laboratory education based on constructivist educational theories. (Continues...).EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Open Educational Resources (OER) for Control Systems Engineering: Development Case with LabVIEW, Simulink, and Camtasia

The aim of this paper is to report on the development of control systems open educational resources. The paper reports on two control systems education software: 1- A LabVIEW based Control Systems Analysis Toolkit (CSAT) which was developed to assist lecturers in teaching control engineering and students to understand theoretical concepts, and 2- A Process Control Virtual Laboratory (PCVL), developed using LabVIEW. Both software have been created as a stand-alone educational application together with a detailed manual and learning activities. Existing Simulink exercises have been enhanced and specific video tutorials for the Simulink exercises have been developed. Evaluations have been conducted indicating positive impact on students

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems toward Remote Experimentation

This paper presents a process based on learning analytics and recom- mender systems to provide suggestions to students about remote laboratories ac- tivities in order to scaffold their performance. For this purpose, the records of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed taking into account one of its installations. Each record is composed of requests containing the as- sembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment, as well as the response provided by the measurement server that evaluates whether a par- ticular request can be performed or not. With the log analysis, it was possible to obtain information in order to determine some initial statistics and provide clues about the student’s behavior during the experiments. Using the concept of rec- ommendation, a service is proposed through request analysis and returns to the students more precise information about possible mistakes in the assembly of circuits or configurations. The process as a whole proves consistent in what re- gards its ability to provide suggestions to the students as they conduct the exper- iments. Furthermore, with the log, relevant information can be offered to teach- ers, thus assisting them in developing strategies to positively impact student’s learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Learning by Doing and Doing via Learning-A Double-loop Teaching Practice of the Weak Structure Problem of Database Management

Database management is a subject of weak structure in problem solving. Database management teaches students the design theory and also the practice of database. The course is also the only one which teaches database design theory. It builds students’ problem solving capability in database for future career development. However, few studies clarify students’ learning in problem solving of weak structure. Furthermore, learning effect and learner satisfaction also need clarification when students learn subjects of weak structure. With the importance of solving database learning problems of weak structure, this study adopts the double loops of teaching practices of learning by doing and doing via learning. And to understand students’ learning, this study adopts quasi-experiment in its research method. Finally, data of twenty-five respondents were gathered. The results of paired t-test showed that students presented significant difference between pre-test and post-test in problem-solving, learning effect, and database table operations. However, the difference of learner satisfaction was not significant. The results indicate the importance of double-loop teaching in weak structure problem of database management. The teaching allows students to understand different thinking logics and problem solutions that have high-level and complex mind process. The double-loop teaching builds the foundations of students’ profession area and accumulates current learning for future theory and practice learning required. For model validation purpose, twenty-four-month data analysis is conducted on a mock-up basis. Keywords: Learning by doing, doing via learning, project management, problem-solving, learning effect DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-20-04 Publication date:July 31st 202

Personalized Student Assessment based on Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper presents a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems with the objective of analyzing student assessment in order to provide clues that can help teachers in scaffolding the students’ performance. For this, a set of tests was used to evaluate students' competence in direct current circuits. The tests had multiple versions and to solve them each student had to use multiple approaches. The results indicate a better performance in calculus and simulations approaches when compared with hands-on and remote laboratories approaches. The analyses also provide support for the recommendation step allowing the configuration of a knowledge base. The process as a whole is consistent in what regards its ability to make suggestions to the students as they complete a given test and to provide teachers with information that can help them formulate strategies to positively impact students’ learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise dos estilos de aprendizagem de estudantes inscritos em um curso técnico em eletromecânica com a aplicação do inventário de kolb

The present paper has as its main goal to identify the learning styles of students enrolled in technical high school concomitant to an electromechanical course, according to the precepts of David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory. This study is part of doctoral research that aims to investigate how different technological resources can be combined in an Experiential Learning Cycle and verify their benefits for teaching Physics. The results obtained made it possible for students to perform metacognition, and for teachers to understand how knowledge is appropriated by their students. The results will serve as a starting point for the elaboration of pedagogical strategies considering the Theory of Experiential Learning. The results also showed heterogeneity among the students since the four learning styles were identified among the 71 students surveyed (assimilating, converging, accommodating, and diverging). However, the Assimilating style stood out among students, representing 35.2%, which corroborates with Kolb’s studies, which demonstrate that individuals who choose courses involving the areas of Physical Sciences and Mathematics present predominantly this learning style. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo principal identificar los estilos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes matriculados en una escuela secundaria técnica, concomitante a un curso de electromecánica, de acuerdo con los preceptos de la Teoría del Aprendizaje Experiencial de David Kolb. Este texto es parte de una investigación de doctorado que tiene como objetivo investigar cómo se pueden combinar diferentes recursos tecnológicos en un Ciclo de Aprendizaje Experiencial y verificar sus beneficios para la enseñanza de la Física. Los resultados obtenidos permiten a los estudiantes realizar metacognición y a los docentes comprender cómo los estudiantes se apropian del conocimiento. Los resultados servirán como punto de partida para la elaboración de estrategias pedagógicas considerando la Teoría del Aprendizaje Experiencial. Los resultados también demostraron una heterogeneidad entre los estudiantes, ya que se identificaron los cuatro estilos de aprendizaje entre los 71 estudiantes encuestados (Asimilador, Acomodador, Convergente y Divergente). Sin embargo, se destacó entre los estudiantes el estilo Asimilador, que representa el 35,2%, del cual se corrobora con los estudios de Kolb, demuestran que los individuos que optan por cursos que involucran las áreas de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas presentan predominantemente este estilo de aprendizaje. O presente artigo tem como principal objetivo identificar os estilos de aprendizagem dos estudantes matriculados em uma escola de ensino médio técnico, concomitante de um curso de eletromecânica, conforme os preceitos da Teoria de Aprendizagem Experiencial de David Kolb. Esse texto faz parte de uma pesquisa de doutorado que tem como objetivo investigar como diferentes recursos tecnológicos podem ser combinados em um Ciclo de Aprendizagem Experiencial e verificar seus benefícios para o ensino de Física. Os resultados obtidos possibilitam aos estudantes a realização da metacognição e aos professores compreender como os estudantes se apropriam do conhecimento. Os resultados servirão como ponto de partida para a elaboração de estratégias pedagógicas considerando a Teoria de Aprendizagem Experiencial. Também, os resultados demonstraram uma heterogeneidade entre os estudantes, uma vez que foram identificados os quatros estilos de aprendizagem entre os 71 estudantes entrevistados (Assimilador, Arrumador, Convergente e Divergente). Entretanto, destacou-se entre os estudantes o estilo Assimilador, que representa o 35,2%, do qual corrobora com os estudos de Kolb, demonstram que os indivíduos que optam por cursos que envolvem as áreas de Ciências Físicas e Matemática apresentam predominantemente este estilo de aprendizagem