Abstract
Integrating hardware prototyping platforms such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Board in education is becoming more prevalent as the number of courses utilizing such platforms is continuously increasing. In this work, we conduct an analytical investigation on the plurality of courses that utilize or integrate hardware prototyping platforms. We examine curriculum and instructional material (e.g. course syllabi or outlines) through publicly available web informational resources (e.g. search engines). We use this data to determine the degree to which these platforms are used as effective learning technologies in existing courses. We further use this data to determine hardware platforms integration statistics and distribution based on the number of courses, types of platforms employed and institutions using them as learning technologies. This statistical data can be used to help determine the current status of the utilization and adoption rate of hardware prototyping platforms into courses. In this paper, we present evidence that hardware prototyping technologies are employed as tools for teaching and learning. Based on examining forty five universities worldwide, we determine that there are on average nine unique courses per university which utilize or integrate a variety of these platforms into courses. We also determine that 75% of these courses are Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math- (STEM-) based while 25% are Non-STEM. We further use our findings to provide insights on the extent to which educational institutions are utilizing these platforms as learning technologies and applying project-based or experiential learning approaches as part of their curriculum development.
Highlights
The utilization and integration of hardware prototyping platforms such as the Raspberry Pi (RPI), Arduino (ARD), BeagleBone Board (BBB), among many other platforms into courses for enhancing the student learning experience is becoming more prevalent [1]
There are variations among the different types of single-board computer (SBC) and single-board microcontroller (SBM) that exist (e.g. Raspberry Pi 3 versus 4, or Arduino Uno versus Mega), our study focuses on measuring the extent to which hardware prototyping platforms in general are integrated into the curriculum
RESULTS we present results and statistics from collected course-related information following our focused process in our CEA framework described in Section 3 spanning across three-seven months
Summary
The utilization and integration of hardware prototyping platforms such as the Raspberry Pi (RPI), Arduino (ARD), BeagleBone Board (BBB), among many other platforms into courses for enhancing the student learning experience is becoming more prevalent [1]. These inexpensive computing devices are considerably getting into the hands of students to ideate, create and innovate in course-related activities. According to the Raspberry Pi Foundation, 27 million Raspberry Pi devices have been sold in total including six million in 2018 Comparing this figure to the worldwide PC shipments reported by Gartner, the Raspberry Pi share is approximately 2.2% of the global PC market (based on the last quarter of 2018) [4]
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