Work-in-Progress: Developing an IoT-based Engaged Student Learning Environment and Tools for Engineering and Computer Science Programs

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic forced education institutions everywhere to rapidly pivot to an online format in which students must often work remotely. The rapid transition has been especially challenging for STEM related courses in which students require access to physical devices to complete their work. We describe the initial steps of an NSF funded project focused on creating learning environments and materials designed to support engaged remote student learning. The approach utilizes IoT learning kits that are lent to students to provide hands-on learning experiences and promote remote engaged learning at students' own chosen environment. The IoT involves infrastructure in which a wide variety of physical devices interact with one another and share information. When designing, working with or combining these devices, engineering students must consider, among other things, sensors and signals, sensor and system integration, input and output interfaces, system functions, control, network management, system architecture and storage, power consumption and management issues, as well as testing and measurement for validation of proper functionality. Computer science students, on the other hand focus more on cloud infrastructure services for the support and management of IoT devices as well as the security and communications aspects of these systems;computer science students are also involved in, among other things, system architecture and storage, device control, real-time operation, system integration, user interface, and app development to facilitate the proper use of the IoT devices. This paper describes the initial efforts underway at two Hispanic Serving Institutions in South Texas to develop IoT-based hands-on engaged student learning environments and tools targeting students studying remotely in computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering programs. Three aspects of remote learning are being investigated 1) Hands-on active problem- and project-based learning (PBL) through the use of IoT kits, 2) Off-campus engaged student learning through hands-on projects using IoT kits, and 3) Scaffolding and Transfer Learning from mathematical concepts to explain the underlying physics theory of the sensors. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.