Mert Bal, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Engineering Technology College of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences Miami University Hamilton,

Mert Bal, PhDAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Engineering TechnologyCollege of Professional Studies and Applied SciencesMiami UniversityHamilton, OH

Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology

Distance-Education

ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Scope of Work

• A preliminary study for assessing a remote laboratory practice for engineering distance-learning

• Remote Robotics Workstation• Outcome assessment through comparing the

test scores, laboratory grades and qualitative questionnaire survey results of distance and local students

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Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education


Miami University

• Main Campus Located in Oxford, Ohio• Department of Engineering Technology is

situated in Regional Campuses:– Hamilton, OH– Middletown, OH– West Chester, OH (VOA Learning Center)– Also operates at 11 partner colleges across the

State of Ohio via the Distance Program

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CSCC

NCSC

ZSCC

WSCC

TCC

SSU

NSCC

Cincinnati

Dayton Columbus

ClevelandToledo

Mansfield

Zanesville

Lima

Portsmouth

Marietta

Fremont

INDIANA

PENNSYLVANIA

KENTUCKY

WEST VIRGINIA

MICHIGAN

Lake Erie

RSC

ESCC

SSCC

OHIO


ENT Distance Program• students at selected partner locations may complete

the Bachelor’s Degree through the ETAC-ABET Accredited Distance Learning Engineering Technology Program

• Concentration in Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology

• Lectures and Labs are delivered synchronously through– The Interactive Video Distance Learning (IVDL) system– Web Tools: WebEx®, Sakai ® etc.

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Distance-Learning Challenges

• Distance Learning has become very popular as an economic option of delivering undergraduate engineering education to the learners at various distant geographic locations

• Hands-on laboratory practice is essential part of engineering technology (ENT) programs

• Delivery of laboratory exercises to the distant learners is a problem demanding solution

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Lab Delivery Solutions• the lab kits that contain small, inexpensive laboratory equipment that

each student either purchases one or given one by the university in order to do the labs at a distance location

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useful for delivering the labs of the courses that do not require sophisticated lab equipment



What about this?

• However, it has been very hard (!) to conduct the distance laboratory experiments, which require bulky and costly equipment

• The engineering technology programs are in the need of new technologies to adapt for distance laboratory instruction

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Some Other Solutions

• Purchasing Costly Equipment• Equipment Sharing• Remote Laboratories• Computer Simulations• Computer Animations (Virtual Reality etc.)• Video Demonstrations• Pictures, Imagination Etc…

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Use of Simulations in Labs• To date, many studies have shown that the use of computer

technologies in teaching and laboratory work is feasible, and has changed the economics of engineering education

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THE VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)



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Remote Laboratory• A technology that uses internet and the World Wide Web to

allow monitoring and control of lab equipment from any location

• promises more hands-on feeling to students than simulations• A complex system that requires significant development

efforts

Image Source: remotelaboratory.com



Remote Laboratories at Miami

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Remote bottle-filling station Magnetic Levitation

Fluid Trainer Lab Station Quanser Servo Unit Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education

Remote Robotics Workstation• Remote operation of a

5-Axis Mitsubishi MoveMaster Robot Arm Manipulator

• Designed and Developed by program faculty and students

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The Network Architecture

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Application Interface

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Application Interface (continued)

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The Implementation• Target Course:

– ENT 407 – Modern Manufacturing Systems • Delivered in hybrid format using IVDL, WebEx and Sakai.• Covers a broad range of topics in manufacturing including:

– manufacturing processes, modern manufacturing technologies, Industrial Robotics, Group Technology, Lean Manufacturing, CAD, and Concurrent Engineering (CIM).

• no laboratory exercises had been previously developed for this course

• VCIMLAB – A virtual reality-based robotics education software has been used for robot programming exercises

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Assessment Study

• An experiment has been designed and implemented for assessing the effectiveness of the remote lab system in distance-learning

• The main instruments used were: – Lab reports and Tests to evaluate the basic learning

outcomes on robot arm manipulation and programming, – Qualititative surveys to obtain the feedback of the

students about their overall experience in the laboratory.

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Test GroupsGROUP 1: Local Students • Traditional on-campus students who are physically present on the main

campus of the university • Local students can perform the lab using the physical equipment present

in the lab

GROUP 2: Distance Students• Students that do not physically reside on the main campus. • They connect to the main campus via IVDL• Can perform the robot programming lab experiment by using the remote

robot station via the internet. They must use the developed client-side software application and operate the robot arm while watching its movement through the web camera

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Summary of the Qualitative Questionnaire Survey Results

RUBRICSGROUP 1: Local Students GROUP 2: Distance

Students(1=Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Agree, 4=Strongly agree)

MEAN SD MEAN SD

The lab sessions were motivating for me to learn more about Industrial Robotics systems.

3.8 0.54 3.5 0.58

The teaching method in lab sessions helped me visualize and understand the manufacturing automation.

3.6 0.66 3.3 0.73

I got familiar with hands on practice of industrial robots with the lessons I learnt in this lab experience.

3.2 0.987 3.2 0.96

This method helped me learn the basics of industrial robot control and programming.

3.6 0.675 3.7 0.71

I would like to have lab sessions like this to help me learn.

3.8 0.55 3.8 0.59

Overall, I have had fun with this lab. 3.6 0.88 3.75 0.82


Quantitative Assessment ResultsGROUP 1

Local StudentsGROUP 2

Distance StudentsGrades for Robot

Programming Lab Report3.37 3.25

Grades of Test 2 3.35 3.09

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No significant performance differences between the two groupsThe direct assessment results based on grades suggest that both student groups are getting similar learning experiences from the robot programming lab

Assessment results of the test and laboratory reports are valid indicators that both groups grasp the subject matter



Conclusions

• For the initial study, results are fairly satisfactory to prove that there are not significant differences in student responses to working with remote and local equipment

• Qualitative survey results that the remote laboratory practice has somewhat a positive influence on the distance-learning students’ motivation

• We will continue monitoring students’ response and outcomes in other courses

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Thank You!

Questions and Comments are Welcome!

Mert Bal, PhDE-mail: [email protected]

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Mert Bal, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Engineering Technology College of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences Miami University Hamilton,

Documents

engineering distance

distance location

laboratory grades

ent distance program

oh voa learning center

oh middletown

oh west chester

distant learners