Simulation of Logic Circuit Tests on Android-Based Mobile Devices

Abstract

In this study, an application that can run on Android and Windows-based mobile devices was developed to allow students attending such classes as Numerical/Digital Electronics, Logic Circuits, Basic Electronics Measurement, and Electronic Systems in Turkey's Vocation and Technical Education Schools to easily carry out the simulation of logic gates, as well as logic circuit tests performed using logic gates. A 2D-mobile application that runs on both platforms was developed using the C# language on the Unity3D editor. To assess the usability of the mobile application, a one-hour training session was administered in March of the 2017-2018 academic year to two groups of students from a single class in the sixth grade of an Imam Hatip Secondary School affiliated with the Ministry of National Education. Each of the two groups contained 12 students who were assumed to be equivalent and who had no prior knowledge of the subject. The training of the first group began with a lecture on basic logic gates using a blackboard and involved no simulations. In comparison, the second group was given the same lecture and received additional training involving demonstrations of the developed mobile application and its simulations. Following the lectures, a written exam was applied to both groups. An evaluation of the exam results revealed that 83 percent of the students who had been given demonstrations of the mobile application were able to perform the circuit task completely, whereas only 50 percent of the others were able to complete the task. It was concluded that the application was both useful and facilitating for the students, and it was also noted that students who were supported by the mobile application had gained a better grasp of the topic by being able to see and practice the simulations firsthand.