Virtual, local and remote laboratories for conceptual understanding of dynamic systems

• Autores: Alejandra J. Magana, Juan D. Ortega-Alvarez, Ryan Lovan, Daniel Gómez Pizano, Johannio Marulanda, Shirley Dyke
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 33, no. 1 (Parte A), 2017, págs. 91-105
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Current cyberinfrastructure is changing the way scientists and engineers interact and work using digital technologies. Inparticular, online experimentation systems are revolutionizing how scientists and engineers collect data, simulate physicalbehaviors, and perform experiments. This study explores the role of virtual, local and remote laboratories in supportingstudents’ abilities to conduct experiments with dynamic systems and observe their frequency response. We compare threedifferent technologies that afford students access to conduct experiments and perform computer simulations through localand remote laboratories. Our sample consisted of 57 students from three groups of the same course, offered in subsequentsemesters. The results suggest that students increased their understanding of frequency response of dynamic systems witheach of the learning tools. Similarly, students reported positive perceptions about the use of these tools, but they identifiedcomputer simulations as being easier to use. Although students’ perceptions of the acquisition of conceptual knowledgethrough the different experiences varied significantly across experiments, results are inconclusive as to what specific tool—or sequence of tools they favored.