Making a virtual learning environment for non-assisted physics laboratory

The Physics laboratory is usually the main place where our students of engineering approach to the physical daily reality, from the technological and the scientific point of view, through experiments and motivating demonstrations. Thinking of those students that can not follow an established schedule of attendance to the classroom, an innovative educational material has been created, which is based on digital filming of the experiments that nowadays are carried out in our real Physics laboratory. The objective is to minimize the lack of acquisition of some abilities associated with the real experimentation, by means of the use of virtual experiments and by working others individual competences by a streaming video. The filming is accompanied by some tutorials that introduce the experiment and illustrate the associated theoretical concepts, together with some simulations. Evaluation and self-evaluation tests are also available to monitor the student’s learning. Anyone can find all the material in the webpage: http://www.epsem.upc.edu/~practiquesfisica/ After putting these materials into practice, we have carried out a survey in which the students compare the real and the virtual experimentation systems and to ask their opinion about the quality of the generated material for two different experiments. The answers of the students encourage us to produce more material of this kind and to improve the autonomous learning of our future students of engineering.Peer Reviewe

Elaboració de material multimèdia de suport per al laboratori de física aplicada.

L’objectiu del projecte ha estat incrementar el material docent, digital i multimèdia, del laboratori de física, per tal d'optimitzar els resultats d'anteriors projectes (2007MQD00084, UPC_PMD2007), centrant-nos en el rendiment de les màquines relacionades amb processos industrials. Els futurs enginyers han de saber dissenyar màquines més eficients en un entorn tecnològic cada vegada més competitiu sense oblidar d’analitzar els efectes que poden transcendir en el medi ambient. El rendiment o eficiència és un paràmetre clau que cal ser estimat. El projecte es desenvolupa a l’entorn de la filmació de vídeos de quatre temàtiques diferents: calorimetria (calorímetre elèctric), energia elèctrica (pila elèctrica), màquines tèrmiques (motor Stirling) i energia solar (col•lector solar tèrmic). En els dos primers casos s’ha elaborat material en format digital que permet preparar, realitzar i després analitzar les dades obtingudes, i elaborar un informe de les pràctiques igual com si l’estudiantat l’hagués fet al laboratori. També s’ha dissenyat un sistema d'autoavaluació de l'aprenentatge de l'estudiantat i d'avaluació de companys. En els altres dos casos, el material elaborat es dedica preferentment a explicar el funcionament dels aparells. Aquest material permetrà a l'estudiantat realitzar pràctiques de laboratori no presencials, complementant l'experimentació al laboratori en augmentar les seves competències formatives: capacitat d'anàlisi i síntesi, treball en equip, presa de decisions, compromís ètic...Peer Reviewe

Making a virtual learning environment for non-assisted physics laboratory

The Physics laboratory is usually the main place where our students of engineering approach to the physical daily reality, from the technological and the scientific point of view, through experiments and motivating demonstrations. Thinking of those students that can not follow an established schedule of attendance to the classroom, an innovative educational material has been created, which is based on digital filming of the experiments that nowadays are carried out in our real Physics laboratory. The objective is to minimize the lack of acquisition of some abilities associated with the real experimentation, by means of the use of virtual experiments and by working others individual competences by a streaming video. The filming is accompanied by some tutorials that introduce the experiment and illustrate the associated theoretical concepts, together with some simulations. Evaluation and self-evaluation tests are also available to monitor the student’s learning. Anyone can find all the material in the webpage: http://www.epsem.upc.edu/~practiquesfisica/ After putting these materials into practice, we have carried out a survey in which the students compare the real and the virtual experimentation systems and to ask their opinion about the quality of the generated material for two different experiments. The answers of the students encourage us to produce more material of this kind and to improve the autonomous learning of our future students of engineering.Postprint (author’s final draft

Introducció a l'experimentació: pràctica zero

La connexió dels alumnes, que s’integren a la universitat, amb el món de l’experimentació (física, electrònica, biologia,...), sempre ha estat una tasca complicada: per no conèixer els estudiants el nou espai de treball, haver de manipular aparells normalment desconeguts, haver d’interioritzar la filosofia de l’experimentació, la dificultat de prendre mesures correctament, procedir a estimar les incerteses en les mesures o representar les dades gràficament, així com presentar els resultats de forma correcta, calcular l’error comès respecte al valor teòric i treure’n conclusions. Pensant en l’EEES i la necessitat d’adquirir competències transversals per parts dels estudiants, en particular els del nostre centre, s’ha volgut establir un protocol de treball, en allò referit a l’entorn de les pràctiques de laboratori, per tal que els estudiants calculin i expressin els resultats experimentals (càlcul d’incerteses, rectes de regressió, representacions gràfiques, etc.) de manera que ho facin seguint uns criteris adequats. Per això, a la vegada s’ha aprofitat per acostar, estudiants i professors implicats, a les normes de la “International Standardisation Organisation” (ISO) i de la “International Electrotechnical Commission” (IEC) en els coneixements teòrics de l’experimentació en el laboratori.Per tal d’aconseguir els objectius, s’ha elaborat una “pràctica zero” amb material multimèdia que la fa interactiva, amb implicació i autonomia de l’estudiant.Peer Reviewe

Materiales para sustituir y/o complementar las prácticas reales de laboratorio mediante sus análogas virtuales

Postprint (published version

Making a virtual learning environment for non-assisted physics laboratory

The Physics laboratory is usually the main place where our students of engineering approach to the physical daily reality, from the technological and the scientific point of view, through experiments and motivating demonstrations. Thinking of those students that can not follow an established schedule of attendance to the classroom, an innovative educational material has been created, which is based on digital filming of the experiments that nowadays are carried out in our real Physics laboratory. The objective is to minimize the lack of acquisition of some abilities associated with the real experimentation, by means of the use of virtual experiments and by working others individual competences by a streaming video. The filming is accompanied by some tutorials that introduce the experiment and illustrate the associated theoretical concepts, together with some simulations. Evaluation and self-evaluation tests are also available to monitor the student’s learning. Anyone can find all the material in the webpage: http://www.epsem.upc.edu/~practiquesfisica/ After putting these materials into practice, we have carried out a survey in which the students compare the real and the virtual experimentation systems and to ask their opinion about the quality of the generated material for two different experiments. The answers of the students encourage us to produce more material of this kind and to improve the autonomous learning of our future students of engineering.Peer Reviewe

Making a virtual learning environment for non-assisted physics laboratory

The Physics laboratory is usually the main place where our students of engineering approach to the physical daily reality, from the technological and the scientific point of view, through experiments and motivating demonstrations. Thinking of those students that can not follow an established schedule of attendance to the classroom, an innovative educational material has been created, which is based on digital filming of the experiments that nowadays are carried out in our real Physics laboratory. The objective is to minimize the lack of acquisition of some abilities associated with the real experimentation, by means of the use of virtual experiments and by working others individual competences by a streaming video. The filming is accompanied by some tutorials that introduce the experiment and illustrate the associated theoretical concepts, together with some simulations. Evaluation and self-evaluation tests are also available to monitor the student’s learning. Anyone can find all the material in the webpage: http://www.epsem.upc.edu/~practiquesfisica/ After putting these materials into practice, we have carried out a survey in which the students compare the real and the virtual experimentation systems and to ask their opinion about the quality of the generated material for two different experiments. The answers of the students encourage us to produce more material of this kind and to improve the autonomous learning of our future students of engineering