Preferences and Uses of a Remote Lab from the Students’ Viewpoint

Abstract

This paper aims to present new evidence and findings that enhance and enrich the knowledge of the preferences and uses of the remote laboratories from the students´ viewpoint. Specifically, the study aims to recognize the students’ preferences in selecting the remote lab as a learning resource, beyond the uses promoted by the professorship. Likewise, we seek to know the reasons given by students that support those preferences. The research was conducted at Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura (FCEIA), Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Argentina, by using the “FCEIA-UNR Electronics Physics Remote Lab” and involving almost 300 students in the second year of Electronic Engineering. The lab is integrated into the Learning Management System (LMS) e-ducativa, Facebook and Twitter, allowing the students to log in without additional authentication, both from the virtual classroom or from those social networks. We collected empirical evidence from both, users' opinions and productions, and also, from registers of the remote lab itself, involving more than 4000 successful tests completed on the lab´s database. We achieved both qualitative and quantitative data that allow us to get a comprehensive study from the students’ perspective.