The student response on the use of renewable energy graphical interface simulator in learning environment

Abstract

Introduction The purpose of this study is to evaluate students’ responses regarding the usefulness of a graphical user interface (GUI) tool in the context of their respective learning environments. The Energy Computator GUI (EC-GUI) helps to simplify the STEM student’s learning processes. The EC-GUI serves as a simulator that can assist in computing formulas, designing graphs, acting as a unit converter, and automatically deriving parameters. Methodology Furthermore, a survey, which included closed and open questions, was carried out on a selection of students majoring in STEM subjects at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) who were enrolled in the Renewable Energy course. A total of 54 respondents participated in the survey and 90.8% of them expressed satisfaction with the EC-GUI provided. The research involved using two distinct kinds of analysis: a parametric analysis, the paired sample t -test, and a non-parametric analysis, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results The study findings indicated that the majority of the respondents felt that the difficulty level of the subjects did not change after using the EC-GUI. However, it helped to simplify the learning process for students in STEM fields. The p -value of the appropriate teaching aid tool was less than 0.05, indicating that the results were significant both before and after using the EC-GUI. Conclusion The study suggests that a similar GUI tool could be implemented in Malaysia’s teaching and learning processes as it is easy to build and use.