Computer Engineering Courses Research Articles

Could the utilization of Empathy Maps and Personas enhance the requirement elicitation process

There is a growing interest in the use of Design Thinking (DT) to enrich requirements elicitation processes. We carried out a quasi-experiment to compare the Effectiveness of Brainstorming sessions in terms of the number of ideas of requirements generated, and the Identified Stakeholders, complementing the Brainstorming sessions with two of the most widely used DT techniques: Empathy Maps and Personas. Therefore, we consider three treatments: Personas + Brainstorming, Empathy Maps + Brainstorming, and Brainstorming alone (control group). The quasi-experiment was carried out with 74 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Computer Engineering course at the Universitat Politècnica de València in 2021. The results reveal a statistically significant effect on Identified Stakeholders when using Empathy Maps. Descriptive analysis also shows an increase in Identified Stakeholders when using Personas, and in the Effectiveness of Brainstorming sessions when used together with Empathy Maps or Personas. There is also a variation in the type of ideas, with the number of functional ideas being higher, and that of non-functional ideas being lower when Empathy Maps are used. These results seem to indicate that Brainstorming sessions are improved when complemented with Empathy Maps or Personas techniques. Nonetheless, we still lack enough evidence to recommend either Personas or Empathy Maps, necessitating further validation.

Investigation of the Competencies of Teacher Candidates in Using Web 2.0 Tools

This study aimed to examine the web 2.0 tool usage competencies of Turkish and Turkish language and literature teacher candidates. The participants' proficiency with Web 2.0 tools was assessed in this context based on several characteristics. 279 teacher candidates (219 female and 59 males) were the subjects of the study, which was carried out at an eastern Turkish university. The data was gathered using Google Docs (Google Forms) and the “Web 2.0 Tools Usage Competency Scale (WAKYÖ)” created by Çelik (2021) as the data gathering method. The results of the study indicate that the digital competency of teacher applicants is frequently in the medium range. The results show that while most teacher applicants use social media, they don't use it frequently. In the gender-based examination, male teacher candidates performed much better than female teacher candidates when using Web 2.0 tools. However, an analysis of age groups shows that there are no discernible differences in Web 2.0 tool proficiency. The examination conducted based on the department or main science that each student pursued at the university revealed that teacher candidates with varying degrees of education possessed comparable levels of digital proficiency. However, there was no discernible difference in the analyses conducted based on the individuals' devices, their use of social media, the amount of time they spent on it each day, and whether or not they had taken computer or information technology courses during their undergraduate studies. The results showed no appreciable variation based on family income level. The results suggest that the focus of educational activities should be on more effective ways to improve digital skills. This makes it obvious that specialized training and support programs should be developed to fulfill the requirements of teacher candidates while taking into consideration factors like academic specialization and gender.

SSENPV's Integrated Management Platform

At the Polytechnic of Viseu (PV) [1], the number of students has been increasing [2], and it is hoped that this trend continues, for the sake of the literacy of the population that serves in its area of coverage and for the reduction of the desertification of the interior region in which is inserted. In the case of Students with Specific Educational Needs (SSEN) who attend the PV (SSENPV), it is extremely important to develop procedures that minimize the anxiety brought about by change for these students, as well as to facilitate their adaptation, to make the period of permanence in Higher Education (HE) an inclusive period, generating well-being, promoting academic success, and facilitating the transition to active life. To combat this phenomenon and since the PV is a Higher Education Institution (HEI) that is guided by equity in its community, in particular the student community, the SSENPV census is a crucial measure insofar as it is necessary to implement procedures, which must respect and obey individual specificities. It is also intended that, regarding access to information on the platform, it will allow reducing asymmetries between students as well as access to services.To respond to this reality, within the scope of the Inova & Includes project. IPV I2 [3], a group of researchers, in partnership with the degree course in Computer Engineering at the Superior School of Technology and Management of Viseu (ESTGV) – curricular unit of “Project”, developed an integrated management platform for SSENPV. This platform, which is intended to be a contribution to true equity in education in the PV, is based on the support of social impact in different dimensions, which translates into the implementation of the following profiles:• Informative Profile: dissemination of legislation and other relevant information on Specific Educational Needs (SEN), ensuring centralized and accessible information management and streamlining procedures and support measures.• Academic Profile: registration and updating of data on the SSENPV.• Technical Evaluation and Follow-up Profile: registration of the SSENPV procedural evaluation, with automatic sending of technical evaluations to authorized users.

Leveraging text mining and analytic hierarchy process for the automatic evaluation of online courses

This study introduced a multi-criteria decision-making methodology leveraging text mining and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for online course quality evaluation based on students’ feedback texts. First, a hierarchical structure of online course evaluation criteria was formulated by integrating topics (sub-criteria) identified through topic modeling and interpreted based on transactional distance and technology acceptance theories. Second, the weights of the criteria in the hierarchical structure were determined based on topic proportions. Third, the AHP was employed to determine the overall relative advantage of online courses and their relative advantage within each criterion based on the hierarchical framework and criterion weights. The proposed approach was implemented on the datasets of 6940 reviews for knowledge-seeking courses in Art, Design, and Humanities (D1) and 44,697 reviews for skill-seeking courses in Computer Science, Engineering, and Programming (D2) from Class Central to determine ranking positions of nine courses from both D1 and D2 as alternatives. Results revealed common concerns among knowledge and skill-seeking course learners, encompassing “assessment”, “content”, “effort”, “usefulness”, “enjoyment”, “faculty”, “interaction”, and “structure”. The article provides valuable insights into the online course evaluation and selection processes for learners in D1 and D2 groups. Notably, both groups prioritize “effort” and “faculty”, while D2 learners value “assessment” and “enjoyment”, and D1 learners value “usefulness” more. This study demonstrates the efficacy of leveraging online learner reviews and topic modeling for automating MOOC evaluation and informing learners’ decision-making processes.

An FPGA‐based tool for supporting the design, modeling, and evaluation of hybrid object recognition systems on computer engineering courses

AbstractThe field of computer vision is characterized by computationally intensive algorithms and techniques with strict real‐time requirements. Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are based on a concurrent paradigm which allows the design of efficient hardware architectures and has positioned FPGAs as an ideal device for implementing compute‐intensive applications. For this reason, FPGA technology has had a great impact in areas such as computer vision, where one of the main objectives for researchers working in this field is to create efficient automatic object recognition systems. Therefore, the need to provide undergraduates with the necessary skills to design FPGA‐based object recognition systems is evident. With this aim in mind, it is essential that specialization courses related to the design of these systems include the required resources for the student to apply the theoretical knowledge in solving practical problems. In this article, we present a development tool designed to help students, teachers, and researchers during the design‐modeling‐implementation process of object recognition systems based on FPGAs. The proposed tool operates under a modular approach as this facilitates the working on any of the phases of a recognition system and it is considered as a hybrid because the other phases can be developed using a software language. An empirical evaluation involving undergraduates enrolled in a Computer Engineering program was conducted to create a hardware architecture for the DAISY descriptor that uses the homogeneous features of objects immersed in images to produce an efficient representation. By considering similar descriptors such as Scale‐Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) and Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG), DAISY is computed by convolving orientation maps instead of using weighted sums of gradient norms, which offers the same kind of invariance at a lower computational cost for the dense case. The results obtained during such an evaluation indicated that students consider this FPGA‐based tool to be an alternative to receiving practical training on designing systems for solving problems related to the area of object recognition.

Creative learning in final year students in computer engineering: A case study of the University of Matanzas

The training of creative computer professionals is considered a strategic process in different countries because it is essential for the computerization of society. This paper proposes an approach to the study of creative computer science learning for the digital transformation of modern society. The aim of the research was to evaluate the creative learning of computer science during the training of computer science professionals. An instrument derived from previous research and metrics was applied to evaluate creative learning in the two groups of terminal years of the computer engineering course at the University of Matanzas with a mixed paradigm. The quantitative analysis diagnosed that more than sixty-five percent of the students are evaluated as poor and fair in both years. The qualitative analysis revealed the inadequacies of the teaching staff in the use of computer science teaching approaches, and the four stages of formation of creative learning in computer science in the degree course: pre-university stage, basic stage, professional stage and research stage. They also revealed three key factors in the formation of creative learning in computer science: the integration of subjects, the solution of real projects, and the mainly emotional support provided by teachers and other professionals to students during their integration into the computerization of organizations.

Creative Learning of Computer Science of Computer Science Professionals: Case University of Matanzas

Research on creativity is a common topic today, with a strong psychological component influencing its definition. This research takes the definition of creative learning from the theory of subjectivity, which is a strand of the cultural-historical approach. However, few studies have defined creativity in the field of computer science and even fewer have addressed learning in this field. This paper aims to diagnose creative learning in computer science in a computer engineering course at the University of Matanzas. In order to achieve this objective, creative learning is first established as an expression of creativity in learning. Then, it is described as a fundamental form of computer activity and, finally, creative learning in computer science is defined. A questionnaire was used to diagnose creative learning in computing. The questionnaire will be administered to 66 final year students enrolled in the academic year 2022. The indicators obtained in the theoretical section will be measured on a scale from 0 to 1. The study will first compare the data obtained through qualitative state inference, followed by the application of inferential statistical methods to further analyse the results. From the results, creative learning in computer science will be assessed and it will be found that it is generally poor. Based on the data, the hypothesis is rejected and the level of development of creative learning in computing is found to be low.

Use of Microsoft Excel for Data Collection and Processing to Predict Students’ Performance in EDM

Abstract— Educational Data Mining (EDM) referes to the research designed to classify, analyze, and predict the students’ academic performance from the data collected from educational setting. Data collection and data processing are an important task in any research such as EDM. In this research article, data collection and data processing task are explained in detailed to build the model for predicting students’ performance and provide the recommendation in Educational Data Mining. In data collection step, we have collected the result ledgers in PDF form related to Four Year Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) course from university. The PDF ledgers for two academic years 2014-15 and 2015-16 of Four Years - First Year, Second Year, Third Year, and Final Year are downloaded from site http://www.sus.ac.in/examination/Online-Result-(Ledger) or https://su.digitaluniversity.ac/Content.aspx?ID=29445 to prepare the dataset to predict students’ performance in Educational Data Mining (EDM). In current study, Syllabus structure of Four Year course of Computer Science and Engineering, Credit system pattern, attributes required for preparing dataset, and types of assessment methods such as Types of assessment methods such as Theory + Practical, Theory + Practical + Practical Oral Exam (POE), Practical + POE, Practical + OE, Practical, Term Work, and Theory are explained in detailed. So original data downloaded from university site for two academic years 2014-15 and 2015-16 of Four Years CSE course from Sem-I to Sem-VIII is prepared with the help of Excel and contain approximately 10,616 students data with 544 number of attributes. For data processing, Microsoft Excel is used. Microsoft Excel features such as Text to Column – Delimited, Text to Column - Fixed width, Filter, and Conditional Formatting – Highlight Cells Rules – Text that contains – are considered for preparation of dataset. Also various functions such as SUM, IF, COUNTIF, MOD and % are employed for processing the data. After data processing step, final dataset for two academic years 2014-15 and 2015-16 from Sem-I to Sem-VIII consists of 6906 students data with 970 number of attributes.In addition to the data collection and processing, research gaps related to the dataset size, etc. are also identified and mentioned the same in this article. These two steps - data collection and processing discussed in detailed in this research article will help the researcher working in EDM to prepare the dataset to build the model so that more work in education sector related to students’ performance can be carried out to improve the teaching-learning process. Keywords—Data Collection, Data Processing, Microsoft Excel, Educational Data Mining (EDM)

Intelligent Assessment of Teaching Quality of Computer Technology Courses in Colleges and Universities Based on ISSA-DRNN

Abstract With the continuous development of artificial intelligence technology, its application in the teaching of computer technology courses in colleges and universities is gradually deepened. In this study, the traditional sparrow search algorithm (SSA) is first processed to find the optimal solution, and then the ISSA algorithm is proposed and modeled. Training the deep recurrent neural network algorithm (DRNN) and combining it with the ISSA algorithm resulted in the construction of the teaching wisdom assessment model for the course. Finally, a teaching quality evaluation system for computer courses is constructed and applied to explore changes in teaching quality. The results show that in the assessment of the teaching quality of computer technology courses, the course structure and the teacher’s profile occupy the highest weight, and the weights occupied by these two items are more than 0.7. Secondly, the accuracy of the ISSADRNN model reaches more than 95%, and the maximum error is 0.0284. The average scores of each index system are more than 88. The overall performance is good and close to excellent. The model output’s actual value is within the expected range and has high accuracy. It can be seen that the intelligent assessment model of computer teaching quality proposed in this study has broad application potential and practical value.

Hybrid blended learning solutions in a STEM teaching of the degree course in Computer Engineering

The case study reports the implementation of Hybrid Blended Learning solutions in the teaching of Fundamentals of Analysis and Probability in the Computer Engineering Degree Course at the University of Padua. The teaching organization and methodology have been revised in a transformative perspective, using innovative STEM and digitally integrated approaches in blended learning mode (Ministerial Decree 289/2021). The context of the study is a cohort of 200 students, divided into two groups for organizational issues. The study analyzed data collected with different instruments: a survey administered by the lecturer and the course evaluation questionnaire required by university quality assurance standards, focusing on overall satisfaction, organizational and teaching aspects and perceived workload. In addition, data on final examination assessment were taken into account.

Academic Spaces and Architectural Composition

This paper sought to develop an architectural proposal for a campus. The analysis of historical aspects of the implementation of higher education in Brazil was essential to understand the notion of campus and the relationship between architectural design and the restructuring of the teaching model in the 1960s The architectural design of the university campus in Brazil is inserted in the context of Modern Architecture and in the principles of the Charter of Athens. The pioneering institutions in this model, UnB and Unicamp, promoted the review of academic programs aligned with the innovation of the physical structure of space to promote university integration. The period from 2000 to 2010 was expressive in the creation of new campuses, many located in the interior cities. In this context, Univasf stands out, whose most recent campus is Salgueiro-PE, with courses in Production and Computer Engineering. Univasf's initiative for Salgueiro contributed to the choice of land for the implementation of the architectural design. The bibliographical research was significant to understand the process of the emergence of the campus in Brazil, to know the history of the constitution of academic spaces and the importance of university architecture. The pioneer institutions in this model, UnB and Unicamp, promoted the review of academic programs aligned with the innovation of the physical structure of the space to promote integration. In view of this, UNIVASF's Salgueiro campus was chosen as a reference for further analysis of the architectural proposal for a campus under development.

Exploring User Experience and Usability in a Metaverse Learning Environment for Students: A Usability Study of the Artificial Intelligence, Innovation, and Society (AIIS)

The metaverse, a rapidly evolving research area, is a virtual, interconnected universe that seamlessly integrates digital and physical realms, facilitating immersive experiences, social interaction, and economic activities across various fields, including computer science, business, and education. Despite its potential to transform current pedagogies and learning experiences through engaging, interactive, and fascinating educational techniques, research is limited in exploring its application, usability, and user experience, particularly for Thai undergraduate students in learning computer engineering courses. In response, we designed and developed an innovative metaverse-based learning system called the AIIS collaborative learning interface, tailored to European undergraduate students. While the original intent of AIIS was to cater to medical students, in this study, our objective was to assess its usability and applicability for computer science and engineering students, specifically focusing on the Asian demographic. After an initial pilot with European students in their local context, the research was extended to Thailand, where 21 Thai undergraduate students evaluated the platform’s usability. The observations from this study indicate that AIIS provides a dynamic, user-friendly learning environment. Nevertheless, the evaluation process unveiled some usability flaws that offer informative directions for future enhancements. Drawing from our observations, we formulated usability guidelines to guide designers and developers toward crafting more efficient metaverse systems, particularly those intended for educational use. Our results also underline the considerable promise that metaverse technologies hold for advancing higher education globally.

Automated Activity Scheduling Tools for Improving Learning and Evaluation of Cybersecurity Competencies in Computer Engineering Courses

In the last ten years, many different innovative learning methodologies have been proposed for engineering education. In those new approaches, students learning, and evaluation are usually supported by a catalogue of creative activities, practices, and presentations which may be very numerous if competencies to be acquired are heterogeneous and must cover a large knowledge area, such as in cybersecurity courses. In addition, when a high number of students are enrolled in the course, deadlines must be strict, to enable professors to evaluate all students and activities properly and on time. Due to this requiring schedule, students often cannot work all competencies with the expected depth, and their learning decreases. New instruments are needed to facilitate the learning of the students and the evaluation process are needed. Therefore, in this paper we proposed a new automated scheduling tool, based on graph theory, to fill this gap. The tool employs graph coloring algorithms to calculate all possible schedules for evaluation activities. Students may freely choose the schedule that best fits their personal situation, learning progress, background, etc. using a web portal where all solutions from the coloring algorithm are displayed. This tool was deployed in the Computer Engineering degree at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain. A pilot experience was conducted for three years (2020-2022) in the context of a cybersecurity course to analyze how this new tool improves the learning and the evaluation process of students. Results show both academic results and the students’ and professor’ satisfaction improve in a significant manner.

EGT-Moodle: an educational game theoretic mechanism in Moodle to establish an efficient online peer-learning environment

ABSTRACT Peer learning is the method of students learning with and from each other. However, it is not completely developed or studied in online and blended higher education. In this paper, an Educational Game Theory method called EGT-Moodle is proposed to establish a peer learning in an online-learning environment. This method is implemented in Moodle (an open-source learning management system) environment. The method is a quasi-experimental study with a post-test design consisting of the experimental and control groups. A total of 152 students of the Discrete Mathematics course in computer engineering constitute the experimental and control groups randomly at 76. The Mann–Whitney two-independent group is applied to compare the post-tests of the subject groups. The result indicates that there is a significant difference (U = 1319, p = .000) between post-tests for the experimental group compared to the control which indicates the positive effect of EGT-Moodle on learning enhancement.

The Development of Sustainable Engineering with PjBL during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Sustainable Engineering education must provide cyber-physical and distributed systems competencies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The COVID-19 pandemic caused profound impacts arising from a traditional on-site teaching model rupture and demanded distance learning for engineering students. In this context, we considered the following Research Questions (RQ): How can Project Based Learning (PjBL) be applied in hardware and software courses from the Engineering curriculum to foster practical activities during the COVID-19 pandemic? Is the student performance in the fully remote offering comparable to the face-to-face offering? (RQ1); Which Sustainable Development Goals are related to the Engineering students' project themes? (RQ2). Regarding RQ1, we present how PjBL was applied in first-, third- and fifth-year Computer Engineering Courses to support 31 projects of 81 future engineers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student grades in a Software Engineering course indicate no relevant differences between student performance in remote and face-to-face offerings. Regarding RQ2, most Computer Engineering students from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo in 2020 and 2021 decided to create projects related to SDG 3-Good Health and Well-being, SDG 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities. Most projects were related to health and well-being, which was an expected behavior according to how health issues were brought into highlight during the pandemic.

BiCAM-based automated scoring system for digital logic circuit diagrams

Abstract In online education, it is critical for the quality of education to evaluate and grade the assignments or examinations that students upload to the system. However, it is time-consuming to determine how well the circuit drawings prepared for the digital logic course, which is a fundamental course in computer engineering and similar disciplines, are not only correct but also compatible with the truth table. Content-addressable memory (CAM), also known as associative memory, is a data storage and retrieval unit. Typically, it is used instead of the conventional memories in fast-paced and time-sensitive applications such as address lookup in Internet routers, databases, and pattern recognition. CAMs implement the search process by comparing the content itself with a key instead of finding the address like the conventional memories. To see the effect of using binary content-addressable memory-based memory on the time spent scoring hand or digital-drawn logic circuits, it is compared with various data structures commonly used in logic simulation programs. I found a significant relationship (O(1)), indicating that the proposed architecture reduces the time complexity in the search process. This expression is the same as time complexity in hash tables.

DEVISING ARCHITECTURE FOR REMOTE EDUCATION ORGANIZATION BASED ON A SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTER

The presented paper sets the goal of providing computer engineering courses based on a single-board computers (SBC) with the organization of the remote education process. The devised approach relies on the connection to the local area network (wired or wireless) of the university, making the board accessible to the internal users, and creation of a network tunnel between the remote user and connected parts. These actions are accompanied by assignments of necessary permissions to the users of the system. First, the requirements of each involved actor were considered and as a result of that further understanding of the network communication process, network management and administration, software requirements, etc. was acquired. According to these results, analysis of the capabilities of SBC in terms of its connectivity was performed and, finally, the architecture was realized on the available hardware with regard to the peculiarities of the specific subject. The article establishes all the necessary details on the implementation of the proposed architecture and discusses results of the testing performed as a part of the specific course. During the testing stage, the deployed system based on FriendlyARM Nano Pi allowed us to organize the course on Real-Time Embedded Computer Systems and successfully finish all related activities under circumstances of remote education. It was demonstrated that the proposed organization is reliable as demonstrates conceivable performance even under condition of multiple simultaneous connections to the target board. From the administrative point of view, the solution is highly configurable which is a huge advantage for the lecturer and for the administrator. The devised architecture has a potential in terms of improvement and scalability because it consumes relatively low network capacity and is easy to deploy under any circumstances.

BIPMIN: A Gamified Framework for Process Modeling Education

Business Process Modeling is a skill that is becoming sought after for computer engineers, with Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) being one example of the tools used in modeling activities. Students of the Master of Computer Engineering course at Politecnico di Torino learn about BPMN in dedicated courses but often underperform on BPMN-related exercises due to difficulties understanding how to model processes. In recent years, there has been a surge of studies that employ gamification (using game elements in non-recreative contexts to obtain benefits) as a tool in Computer Engineering education to increase students’ engagement with the learning process. This study aims to use the principles of gamification to design a supplementary learning tool for the teaching of information systems technology. In particular, to improve student understanding and use of BPMN diagrams. This study also analyzes the usability and motivation of the participants in using different game elements in increasing student motivation and performance. As part of the study, a prototype web application was developed, which implemented three different designs, each incorporating different game elements relating to either progress, competition, or rewards. An evaluation was then conducted on the prototype to evaluate the performance of the practitioners in performing BPMN modeling tasks with the gamified tool, the usability of the proposed mechanics and the enjoyment of the individual game mechanics that were implemented. With the usage of the gamified tool, the users of the experimental sample were able to complete BPMN modeling tasks with performances compatible with estimates made through expert judgement (i.e., gamification had no negative effect on performance), and were motivated to check the correctness of their models many times during the task execution. The system was evaluated as highly usable (85.8 System Usability Score); the most enjoyed game elements were rewards, levels, progress bars and aesthetics.

Microsoft Teams Supports Authentic Assessment of Learning

In computer technology, statistics, and business courses that I have taught over the past decade, students have worked in groups/teams. I assumed students communicated with teammates within the Learning Management System (LMS). In 2017, I was surprised to discover students were using GroupMe. To help me understand the attraction, I signed up for a GroupMe account. I was underwhelmed with its purpose but understood the ease of the application. I was also learning more about Slack, thinking it was a much better tool for communication and collaboration, and realizing that communicating within the LMS was not ideal, even awkward, and not real world. However, Slack was not readily available for student use, so when our institution introduced Microsoft Teams in 2020, I began exploring using Microsoft Teams for teamwork/projects because it is a real-world tool that students will likely use/encounter after college. I have been using Microsoft Teams consistently since Fall 2020. Using Microsoft Teams moves students from conceptual to applicable knowledge related to teamwork, communication, and even leadership skills. Microsoft Teams can supplement any content/course project. Requiring students to use Microsoft Teams as it would be used in the workplace allows teams to choose when they meet to collaborate, manage their “channel,” and ultimately create their project. All the work leading up to the final deliverable is archived in one space accessible by instructor (manager) as would be in the real world. The assessment(s) takes on a level of authenticity that is missing with a traditional LMS. In this reflective essay, I will show how Microsoft Teams supports authentic assessment while engaging students in a real-world technology that adds to their post-undergraduate toolkit and future success.

Flipped classroom with teams-based learning in emergency higher education: methodology and results

During the pandemic period, most of the universities shifted their curricula into fully distance learning models. Due to these Emergency Remote Education circumstances, we adopted the application of Flipped Classroom model combined with Team-based Learning pedagogical strategy in four Computer Engineering courses. Our approach was reinforced by employing LAMS Learning Activities Management System in conjunction with interactive video services. Results of the application of this approach reveal enhanced student engagement with learning resources and improved achievement when compared to the traditional, in-class, conduction of the same courses. Moreover, students report positive estimation of the adopted approach.