NETWORKED LEARNING PHYSICS OF SEMICONDUCTORS THROUGH A VIRTUAL LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT
K. Ninos, I. Stavrakas, G. Hloupis, C. Anastasiadis, D. Triantis
2010
Abstract
Virtual laboratory tools have been introduced long ago. Such tools have been used by students to improve their performance and stimulate their interest. When the high cost of hardware replacement and maintenance is contrasted to the flexibility of adding new subjects in a laboratory course, the virtual laboratory tools render a power tool for educational purposes. Since students statistically do not spend adequate time preparing for laboratory modules, new methodologies and software have been sought to help students increase their laboratory skills and understanding. In this work a virtual laboratory environment dealing with Semiconductor Physics assignments is described, discussed and evaluated. Semiconductor Physics was chosen since it is a first year module not connected to any background knowledge familiar to the students. The evaluation was made by providing the software to some of the students and comparing their performance to that of students having no access to the software. It is concluded that the software tool provided to the students before taking the laboratory helped to increase their performance. It was also observed that this tool mainly serves weaker students since, according to the evaluation tests, they are mainly helped to achieve a pass score.
References
- Ali, N.S., Hodson-Carlton, K., Ryan, M., 2004. Students' perceptions of online learning: Implications for teaching, Nurse Educator, 29, pp. 111-115.
- Cheng, Y.K. Cheng, K.W.E. Kwok, K.F, Cheung, T.K., 2004. New medium teaching method for power electronics, First International Conference on Power Electronics Systems and Applications, pp. 278- 283, 9- 11 Nov. 2004.
- DeBord, K.A., Aruguete, M.S., Muhlig, J. 2004. Are computer-assisted teaching methods effective? Teaching of Psychology, 31, pp. 65-68.
- Dede, C., 2000. Emerging technologies and distributed learning in higher education. D. Hanna, ed., Higher Education in an Era of Digital Competition: Choices and Challenges, Atwood, New York, pp. 71-92.
- Epstein, J., Klinkenberg, W.D., Wiley, D., McKinley, L., 2001. Insuring sample equivalence across Internet and paper-and-pencil assessments, Computers in Human Behavior, 17, pp. 339-346.
- Kumar, A.N., 2003. The effects of closed labs in computer science I: An assessment. J. Comput. Sci.Colleges 18, 5, pp. 40-48.
- Fox, R., 2002. Online technologies changing university practices, A. Herrmann & M. M. Kulski, Eds. Flexible Futures in Tertiary Teaching, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA., pp.235-41.
- Hart, D.W., 1993. Circuit simulation as an aid in teaching the principles of power electronics, IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 36, no. 1, February 1993, pp. 10- 16.
- Hudgins, J.L. Monti, A. Dougal, R., 2002. Control system laboratory: a power electronics teaching experience” , 2002 IEEE Workshop on Computers in Power Electronics, 3-4 June 2002, pp. 112- 116.
- Soh, L-K, Samal, A., Nugent, G., 2005. A framework for CS1 closed laboratories, Journal on Educational Resources in Computing (JERIC), Volume 5 , Issue 4.
- Stavrakas, I., Kontogiannis, T., Panaousis, M, Kaitsa, M., Daradimos, I., Georgiou, T., Blathras G., Triantis, D., 2005. Beowulf Clusters for Parallel Programming Courses, IEEE - EUROCON, pp. 791-794.
- Stergiopoulos, C., Tsiakas, P., Kaitsa, M., Triantis, D., 2006. Evaluating electronic examination methods of students of electronics. Effectiveness and comparison to the paper-and-pencil method, IEEE International Conference on Sensor Networks, Ubiquitous, and Trustworthy Computing (SUTC 2006), June 5-7, Taichung, Taiwan.
- Triantis, D., Stavrakas, I., Tsiakas, P., Stergiopoulos, C., Ninos, D., 2004. A pilot application of electronic examination applied to students of electronic engineering: Preliminary results, Advances in Engineering Education, vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 26-30.
- Triantis, D., Stergiopoulos, Ch., Tsiakas, P., 2009. Comparison of Oral Examination and Examination Methods Based on Multiple-Choice Questions Using Personal Computers, Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2009), 23-25, March, Lisboa, Portugal, pp. 13-18.
- Ubell, R., 2000. Engineers turn to e-learning, IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 37, pp. 59-63, no. 10, October.
- Ventouras, ?., Triantis, D., Tsiakas, P., Stergiopoulos. Ch., 2009. Comparison of examination methods based on multiple-choice questions and constructed-response questions using personal computers. Computers & Education, vol. 54, pp. 455-451 (2010).
Paper Citation
in Harvard Style
Ninos K., Stavrakas I., Hloupis G., Anastasiadis C. and Triantis D. (2010). NETWORKED LEARNING PHYSICS OF SEMICONDUCTORS THROUGH A VIRTUAL LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT . In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU, ISBN 978-989-674-023-8, pages 257-261. DOI: 10.5220/0002790802570261
in Bibtex Style
@conference{csedu10,
author={K. Ninos and I. Stavrakas and G. Hloupis and C. Anastasiadis and D. Triantis},
title={NETWORKED LEARNING PHYSICS OF SEMICONDUCTORS THROUGH A VIRTUAL LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU,},
year={2010},
pages={257-261},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0002790802570261},
isbn={978-989-674-023-8},
}
in EndNote Style
TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU,
TI - NETWORKED LEARNING PHYSICS OF SEMICONDUCTORS THROUGH A VIRTUAL LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT
SN - 978-989-674-023-8
AU - Ninos K.
AU - Stavrakas I.
AU - Hloupis G.
AU - Anastasiadis C.
AU - Triantis D.
PY - 2010
SP - 257
EP - 261
DO - 10.5220/0002790802570261