Bringing active learning, experimentation, and student‐created videos in engineering: A study about teaching electronics and physical computing integrating online and mobile learning

Abstract

Active learning (AL) is a well‐known teaching method in engineering because it allows to foster learning and critical thinking of the students by employing debate, hands‐on activities, and experimentation. However, most educational results of this instructional method have been achieved in face‐to‐face educational settings and less has been said about how to promote AL and experimentation for online engineering education. Then, the main aim of this study was to create an AL methodology to learn electronics, physical computing (PhyC), programming, and basic robotics in engineering through hands‐on activities and active experimentation in online environments. N = 56 students of two engineering programs (Technology in Electronics and Industrial Engineering) participated in the methodology that was conceived using the guidelines of the integrated course design model (ICDM) and in some courses combining mobile and online learning with an Android app. The methodology gathered three main components: (1) In‐home laboratories performed through low‐cost hardware devices, (2) Student‐created videos and blogs to evidence the development of skills, and (3) Teacher support and feedback. Data in the courses were collected through surveys, evaluation rubrics, semistructured interviews, and students' grades and were analyzed through a mixed approach. The outcomes indicate a good perception of the PhyC and programming activities by the students and suggest that these influence motivation, self‐efficacy, reduction of anxiety, and improvement of academic performance in the courses. Even, the PhyC activities can reduce the differences in academic performance between women and male students and promote their improvement toward excellence with better results for courses combining online and mobile learning. Similarly, women students preferred to use more often tutoring services and had a better perception of the teacher's feedback than their male pairs. The methodology and previous results can be useful for researchers and practitioners interested in developing AL methodologies or strategies in engineering with online, mobile, or blended learning modalities.