Showing papers by "Elio Sancristobal published in 2023"

Impact of Remote Labs in Preparing Students for Work 4.0

Abstract: Industry 4.0 will enable new types of interactions between man and machine with ramifications on the nature of work and the labor force. New technologies will require new skills and competencies, and engineers, entrepreneurs, programmers, and workers will need a broad skillset to address the technological advancement of the fourth industrial revolution. Remote labs stand as an efficient and reliable platform to train students, improve their skills and prepare them for the Work 4.0 paradigm. The story of Princess Sumaya University for Technology with remote labs and its efforts to provide students with a glimpse of Industry 4.0 is presented. In addition, assessment methods to em-power students with virtual collaboration, social intelligence, and communication skills are investigated, showing improvements in performance and achievements.

Assessment and recognition in technical massive open on-line courses with and without on-line laboratories

Abstract: This paper describes the organization and results of several MOOCs delivered about technical topics (i.e., digital electronics, VHDL design on FPGAs, open education and OERs repositories and the use of STEAM technologies to encourage diversity and inclusion), where online laboratories have been used in some of them. An analysis of the enrollment, students participating on tasks or quizzes, drop-out rate and certifications requests have been done.

MOOC-Based Flipped Classroom for On-Campus Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering Courses

Abstract: Contribution: This work studies how to integrate massive open online courses (MOOCs) into traditional, face-to-face, Undergraduate Engineering Courses.

Background: MOOCs emerged as an innovative trend in online learning with distinctive and attractive features, such as ease of access and cost effectiveness for large audiences. For this reason, they have attracted a lot of attention for their potential in contributing to global challenges in contemporary Engineering education. However, the integration of MOOCs into traditional, on-campus courses and programs in higher education remains an open problem.

Research Question: What is the most effective MOOC-blending strategy for traditional, on-campus engineering programs?

Methodology: To answer this question, first a literature review was conducted on the utilization of MOOCs within face-to-face Undergraduate Education. Based on this literature review, this work advocates for the MOOC-based flipped (MBF) classroom as the strategy with the highest potential for MOOC-based blending. The main pedagogical and design principles of this methodology are described and a case study is presented on a cohort of students (N $~=~$ 23) enrolled in a Digital Signal Processing course within an Undergraduate Electronics Engineering Program. This is a position paper based on evidence from the literature, but the case study is used to illustrate how the MBF design principles can be implemented in practice.

Findings: The results suggest that the MBF methodology is a growing trend in Undergraduate Engineering Education with the potential to facilitate student’s active learning in synchronous face-to-face sessions while fostering the adoption and usage of MOOCs.