The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Bioinformatics course to switch from on-site teaching to remote learning. This shift has prompted a change in teaching methods and laboratory activities. Students need to have a basic understanding of DNA sequences and how to analyze them using custom scripts. To facilitate learning, we have modified the course…

Contribution: A systematic approach to MATLAB problem design and automated assessment is described, based on the experience working with the MATLAB server provided by MathWorks and integrated with the edX massive online open class (MOOC) platform. Background: New technologies, such as MOOCs, provide innovative methods to tackle new challenges in…

This study presents the integration of three different teaching scenarios, during biology laboratory lessons, with the overall aim of exploring the potential predominant effectiveness of teaching and improvement of students' learning, by the use of the three-dimensional virtual reality educational tool Onlabs, versus more traditional didactic…

Two 20-h modelling-based workshops focused on the explanation of thermally activated phenomena were held at the University of Palermo, Italy, during the Academic Year 2014-2015. One of them was conducted by applying an inquiry-based approach, while the other, still based on laboratory and modelling activities, was not focused on inquiry.…

This paper presents a method to design high-quality 3D equipment for virtual laboratories. A virtual control laboratory is designed on large-scale educational purpose with merits of saving expenses for universities and can provide more opportunities for students. The proposed laboratory with more than 30 virtual instruments aims at offering…

One of the most elementary concepts in freshmen Electrical Engineering subject comprises the Resistance-Inductance-Capacitance (RLC) circuit fundamentals, that is, their time and frequency domain responses. For a beginner, generally, it is difficult to understand and appreciate the step and the frequency responses, particularly the resonance. This…

Contribution: There are many on-line resources available to learn about optics and photonics, but no assessment tools exist to evaluate the learning achievements. This paper presents an assessment framework whose validity has been proven on a course with over 70 engineering students. Background: There is evidence that on-line resources complement…

Machine vision is an important subject in computer science and engineering degrees. For laboratory experimentation, it is desirable to have a complete and easy-to-use tool. In this work we present a Java library, oriented to teaching computer vision. We have designed and built the library from the scratch with emphasis on readability and…

This descriptive study aims to investigate the instructional effectiveness of Open Educational Resources (OER). It was conducted with 1196 university students who were enrolled in a general chemistry course with an experimental laboratory section. These students voluntarily used OER for their lab activities. Data were collected via a printed,…

The written lab report--a concise and accurate accounting of an experiment, including a summary of the procedure, presentation of the results, reasoned analysis, and thoughtful explanation--is essential to the scientific endeavor and a key expression and product of inquiry. Generally, however, students and teachers dislike these reports, the…

This article presents an innovative project in the context of remote experimentation applied to control engineering education. Specifically, the authors describe their experience regarding the analysis, design, development, and exploitation of web-based technologies within the scope of automatic control. This work is part of an inter-university…