Abstract
Engineering education benefits from the application of modern technology, allowing students to learn essential Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related concepts through hands-on experiences. Robotic kits have been used as an innovative tool in some educational fields, being readily accepted and adopted. However, most of the time, such kits’ knowledge level requires understanding basic concepts that are not always appropriate for the student. A critical concept in engineering is the Cartesian Coordinate System (CCS), an essential tool for every engineering, from graphing functions to data analysis in robotics and control applications and beyond. This paper presents the design and implementation of a novel Two-Dimensional Cartesian Coordinate System Educational Toolkit (2D-CACSET) to teach the two-dimensional representations as the first step to construct spatial thinking. This innovative educational toolkit is based on real-time location systems using Ultra-Wide Band technology. It comprises a workbench, four Anchors pinpointing , , , axes, seven Tags representing points in the plane, one listener connected to a PC collecting the position of the Tags, and a Graphical User Interface displaying these positions. The Educational Mechatronics Conceptual Framework (EMCF) enables constructing knowledge in concrete, graphic, and abstract levels. Hence, the students acquire this knowledge to apply it further down their career path. For this paper, three instructional designs were designed using the 2D-CACSET and the EMCF to learn about coordinate axes, quadrants, and a point in the CCS.
Highlights
Educational systems are constantly searching for new educational technologies that improve their students’ knowledge and help them acquire the necessary skills in the new industrial era
The Educational Mechatronics Conceptual Framework (EMCF) [23,24] will be used in this proposal for the development of mechatronic concepts, the case of the Cartesian plane, developing spatial thinking [21,22] critical and scientific thinking, known as higher-order thinking [25,26], and the development of mechatronic thinking
This paper focuses on learning the two-dimensional space concept within the EMCF-LCM methodology; including the three learning levels: concrete, graphic and abstract level:
Summary
Educational systems are constantly searching for new educational technologies that improve their students’ knowledge and help them acquire the necessary skills in the new industrial era. Behzadan et al [4] reviewed the effectiveness of technology in the classroom using modern technology through the application of a framework for the visualization of augmented reality in an engineering education context Their findings indicate that technology is important in student performance when implemented correctly, stimulates greater interaction between the instructor and the student, and encourages cooperative learning, collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skills. In [8], a Lab-in-a-box for STEM classes is presented They integrate a series of sensors, embedded systems, and cloud services to create a low-cost, battery-powered, and internetconnected support material to engage learners in data gathering, data analysis, data representation, and solution making based on information. This work presents a novel educational toolkit for engineering education, the 2DCACSET It involves sensors, embedded systems, cloud computing, and instructional design based on the EMCF to enhance the engineering student learning experience. It is relevant to mention that this educational toolkit can be used as the base to construct other mechatronics concepts related to autonomous robot vehicles control as positioning, linear and angular displacements, kinematics, dynamics, path planning, and control
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call