Authors:
López, Marco Aedo and Duarte, Elizabeth Vidal and Gutiérrez, Eveling Castro and Valderrama, Alfredo Paz
Abstract:
This paper describes a teaching experience based on ludic environments: video game and 3D animation environment, to provide students with a motivating environment for the first computer programming course. One problem that exists in many Latin American countries is that educators who teach the basic programming course find that for most students, computer programming is a completely new subject. We found that an approach based on ludic environments that takes into account the styles of visual and kinesthetic learning to teach basic programming concepts is more effective and motivating.
+ Info
Authors:
Abstract:
Infrared thermography is one of the main techniques of predictive maintenance. It consists of measurements of temperature at a distance and analysis of thermograms. Thermography is widely used in the electrical sector because most electrical equipment presents thermal disturbances before a failure. Currently, there is difficulty in teaching and learning thermographic inspection because practical lessons are usually performed in no suitable teaching equipment. The using actual electrical installations for thermography practical class are not recommended due to the need for the insertion of failures, which is risky for people's safety and can cause arcing and interruption of electricity supply. Thus, in this paper, a prototype was developed for use as a didactic resource for thermography. For this, a set of switchgear was designed and built that simulated common electrical failures: open circuit, poor contact, undersizing of conductors, and interruption of parallel conductors. The assembled didactic switchgear was used in pilot classes with technical and upper-level students from the electricity area who had already taken the class through a real electrical switchgear. All students considered the didactic switchgear better than the real one, with a 100% satisfaction index. From the proposed switchgear and the pilot classes, a tutorial for practical classes and a teaching manual were developed. It was concluded that the didact resource proposed, classes with the proposed set of switchgear, is better than classes in actual facilities, considering the control of teaching resources and the operational safety, as well as people's safety.
+ Info
Authors:
Bolanakis, Dimosthenis E.
Abstract:
Microcontrollers constitute a popular technology of our age. While a few decades ago, it seemed extremely difficult to teach non-electronic engineers how to program a single-chip computer system, nowadays, inexperienced designers share microcontroller-based prototypes over the Internet. The emergence of today's do-it-yourself (DIY) culture has introduced pervasiveness of this technology and rendered the development of embedded computing systems easier than ever before. This communication identifies two fundamental eras in the advancement of microcontroller programming and application development, and distinguishes the `back then' with `nowadays' trends and consequent risks in education. Then, attention is paid to the classification and progress in educational research over a span of twenty years, along with a prediction of the prospective direction in microcontroller education in the upcoming decade. In this paper, in the recognition of the growing interdisciplinary nature of microcontroller technology, the information summarized could serve as a reference guide for further research study in diverse disciplines.
+ Info
Authors:
Hormigo, Javier and Rodríguez, Andrés
Abstract:
The fast evolution of technologies forces teachers to trade content off for self-learning. Project-based learning (PBL) is one of the best ways to promote self-learning and simultaneously boost motivation. In this paper, we present our experience of designing a PBL course for industrial informatics. We provide all the designing details that could help other teachers to reproduce a similar experience. Furthermore, we report on the impact that this project has on student satisfaction and motivation. The new industry 4.0 topic allows us to carry out complete projects, integrating different technologies and tools. Moreover, the selection of open-source and standard free technologies makes easy and cheap the access to hardware and software platforms used. Surveys taught us that tuning the courses toward developing real projects on the field, has a large impact on acceptance, learning objectives achievements, and motivation toward the course content.
+ Info