Assessment of digital laboratory effectiveness in the Basic Electronics subject

Abstract

Nowadays electronics is present in every scene of modern life. The ever-increasing relevance of complex systems with low power consumption and small size has been particularly challenging for higher educational institutions. Universities have already included a wide variety of new concepts and knowledge in their contents to fulfill the expectations of our society. COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways of teaching and learning for both teachers and students, who have had to adapt to this fact accordingly. That is why now it is not only necessary to develop new methodologies to address the transfer of knowledge and skills, but it is also necessary to previously evaluate whether the changes are beneficial or not for the teaching-learning binomial. Online teaching demands time-consuming digital resources to be effective. This requires a careful planning and validation process, with a critical attitude towards the improvements made for a better assimilation of knowledge. This work evaluates the use of the digital laboratory in the Basic Electronics subject, a 2nd year compulsory subject of the Industrial Engineering degree of the University of Almeria in four specialties: Industrial Electronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The practices methodology in the last four academic years are analyzed: 2018-19 with face-to-face teaching before the pandemic, 2019-20 with some face-to-face teaching and then virtual teaching with digital laboratory support after the pandemic restrictions, 2020-21 with 100% virtual teaching and digital laboratory, and 2021-22 with a hybrid model (face-to-face teaching and digital laboratory). The academic results show that the introduction of the digital laboratory in the practices makes students improve the success rate in them, although it does not affect the success rate of the subject. The academic years where the subject has been taught virtually have a higher rate of absenteeism than those that were face-to-face. Regarding the results of passing students in the practices, it is shown that promoting the use of the digital laboratory not only improves this rate, but also the grades are better. After analyzing the statistics of the last four academic years, it is found that the 2021-22 academic year, when the hybrid practices have been carried out, is the one that has achieved the best results. The analysis also shows that in the field of engineering, a satisfactory compromise between the use of the digital laboratory and face-toface learning must be reached to prepare students for the changing labor market.