Showing papers by "Denis Gillet published in 2005"

Collaborative web-based experimentation in flexible engineering education

Abstract: The Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, is deploying a flexible learning scheme for selected pilot courses in engineering education. In such a scheme, traditional lectures and written exercises are combined with additional Web-based learning resources. The main objective of this initiative is to sustain the evolution from traditional teaching to active learning and to better integrate the increasing number of educational resources available online. In engineering education, a key activity to sustain the learning process is hands-on experimentation carried out using either simulation tools or real equipment. This paper describes how a collaborative Web-based experimentation environment has been introduced at the EPFL for providing more flexibility to students performing laboratory experiments in automatic control, biomechanics, and fluid mechanics. It particularly describes the eJournal, a Web service integrated in the proposed learning environment that enables the collection and sharing of preparatory notes and experimental results with both peers and teaching assistants.

The Virtual Control Laboratory Paradigm: Architectural Design Requirements and Realization Through a DC-Motor Example*

Abstract: Reference LA-ARTICLE-2006-017View record in Web of Science Record created on 2006-05-08, modified on 2017-05-10

The electronic laboratory journal: a collaborative and cooperative learning environment for web-based experimentation

Abstract: Numerous tools have been developed for supporting the collaboration between students in education, tools that mainly include facilities for sharing documents and enabling discussions. However, these environments do not emphasize the use of facilities that sustain collaborative work in the framework of remote experimentation carried out by a group of students located at different places. The Electronic Laboratory Journal (eJournal) paradigm proposed in this paper is a collaborative and cooperative enviromnent for Web-based experimentation in engineering education. The eJournal enhances the traditional laboratory journal, by providing a group of students with Web-based tools to collect, annotate, organize and share the data chunks necessary to complete their experimentation assignments. The data chunks, called fragments, may be composed of numerous objects of any format, such as text, images, graphics, manuscripts, measurement logs or experimental results. Fragments can be uploaded from local disks or imported from Web components. The eJournal also handles the submission of results to the educators and facilitates remote supervision, assistance and tutoring of the students. The eJournal paradigm is currently assessed at the School of Engineering, the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in the framework of hands-on experimentation activities focusing on remote manipulation of real setups and Web-based simulation. This paper presents the eJournal environment, its application and its evaluation as an enabling Web-based application for flexible learning.

The PRIMA Astrometric Planet Search Project

Abstract: The PRIMA facility will implement dual-star astrometry at the VLTI. We have formed a consortium that will build the PRIMA differential delay lines, develop an astrometric operation and calibration plan, and deliver astrometric data reduction software. This will enable astrometric planet surveys with a target precision of 10μas. Our scientific goals include determining orbital inclinations and masses for planets already known from radial-velocity surveys, searches for planets around stars that are not amenable to high-precision radial-velocity observations, and a search for large rocky planets around nearby low-mass stars.

A framework for sustaining the continuity of interaction in Web-based learning environment for engineering education

Abstract: : This paper presents an innovative approach that can facilitate Web-based collaborative hands-on activities in engineering education. We present a framework that helps to sustain the continuity of interaction in flexible learning. The proposed approach is based on Activity Theory and focuses on the mediation role of collaboration artifacts within a learning community in Web-based experimentation environments. The artifacts serve both as a medium and as a product of the collaboration process in the community. We have developed the eJournal as an implementation of collaboration artifacts to support knowledge acquisition and reinforcement in a collaborative way. The eJournal is integrated into the eMersion environment, which is currently used to supply online experiments for various practical courses offered by the School of Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL). The paper also presents two case studies and some evaluation results. Introduction Computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is a new trend of learning and education in which technology is used to enabling constructive approaches to support collaborative learning. Pedagogical approaches to collaborative learning treat the learner as an active and reflective participant of a collaborative community (Fjuk 1998). According to the socio-constructivist theory (Piaget 1929), previous experience plays an important role for learners to develop knowledge. In fact, this point is extremely important in engineering education where hands-on activities are best supported by resources that embody knowledge. In engineering education, the hands-on activities are as important as the theoretical ones. The hands-on work helps students to reinforce the knowledge obtained from the theoretical lectures, to improve the professional competences and the personal development, including the necessary skills for teamwork, since hands-on activities are usually conducted in groups. In his socio-cultural theory, Vygotsky stated that social interaction is a fundamental factor in the development of cognition (Vygotsky 1978). The collaboration between students working actively in small groups can help them to work more productively in the laboratory and also learn more easily, especially in a flexible context where students can follow different learning modalities to perform multi-session experiments. It may also have a significant impact on learning outcomes (Berge & Collins 1995). Recognizing the importance of hands-on activities in engineering education (Ogot 2003), several institutions have developed remote experimentation resources (Bohne et al. 2004, Sepe & Short 2001), most of them are based on Web infrastructure, as a supplement to the face-to-face learning and teaching activities. However, from a constructivist point of view and in order to be effective, a Web-based learning environment for engineering education should allow the integration of different tools and services that (i) support hands-on activities, (ii) permit saving and reconstructing the experiments, i.e. allow to benefit from the previous experience, and (iii) facilitate collaborative activities. However, the development and deployment of such environments for flexible engineering education has raised many issues to be addressed. This paper presents our study on the concept of the continuity of interaction, which is quite important in the context of flexible hands-on activities. The discontinuity of interaction prevents students from getting the sense of dealing with ‘reality’, which is normally well supported in face-to-face learning modalities. In fact, flexible pedagogical scenarios introduce many sources of discontinuities of interaction. The discontinuity of interaction prevented clearly the collaboration between students. It also slowed down and complicated the student experimental tasks. Section 2 of the paper presents the concept of the continuity of interaction as well as the theoretical and technical solutions for sustaining the continuity. In section 3, two case studies are detailed. Some evaluation results are discussed in section 4. The paper ends with concluding remarks.

Formal Assessment of a Web-based Learning Environment

Abstract: ⎯ Nowadays, Web-based environments offer a tremendous opportunity to add flexibility in traditional engineering curricula by providing students with versatile access to the learning resources from both a time and a location perspective. In this context, we have developed the eMersion environment with the aim to provide a Web-based learning environment that supports hands-on experimentation through remote manipulation of physical laboratory devices and/or computer simulation tools. The eMersion environment provides the students with the possibilities to carry out the experimentation in a flexible way and is currently used in various courses offered by the School of Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). This paper presents a proposed model for the assessment of Web-based learning environment in engineering education. The model encourages performing evaluation under an iterative perspective. The assessment processes are carried out at different phases at a learning process through different assessment loops. This assessment model allows the integration of different analysis methods including quantitative, qualitative and social network analysis. The paper also describes the results and analyses of the evaluation process carried out in the Automatic Control laboratory courses using the Cockpit environment from the 2002 winter to the 2004 summer semesters at the EPFL. The evaluation takes place in an iterative process with the purpose of studying different aspects of a Webbased engineering learning community, such as participation, flexibility and collaboration. Another objective is to improve the user interface design. These evaluation results allow the observation of different dimensions of the Web-based learning process in engineering education. The first dimension is the amount of the students’ work that takes place within the environment compared to work that occurs outside. It refers to the utility of the environment for performing hands-on tasks. The second dimension is linked to the importance of flexible learning modalities compared to traditional face-to-face learning modalities. Another dimension refers to the collaboration aspect. Different metrics are also defined to measure the influence of shared artifacts on the student learning performance. During this period of 4 semesters, 337 students have used the environment to perform hands-on activities. The evaluation results show that the Web-based environment encourages students in conducting flexible hands-on experimentation as a complement of the traditional ones. Furthermore, we can show that the environment fits more and more to the students’ needs regarding the hands-on activities. The evaluation results also open up a new set of ways for assessing the flexible and collaborative work in Web-based learning environment for engineering education.