Rethinking Laboratorio Experimental Towards a Methodological Transition

Abstract

In 2012 the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica opened the Computer Engineering program at the recently created Centro Académico de Alajuela. At that time there were neither research space nor resources available for undergraduate students to practice problem solving by applying theoretical concepts to real life problems. The Laboratorio Experimental was proposed in mid 2013 as a research initiative where students and faculty could engage together in projects powered by low cost open hardware and free software. This article shares the experiences learned by the proponents of the lab and a detailed explanation of the projects, also describes the results of students academic experience.