Mert Bal, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Engineering Technology College of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences Miami University Hamilton, 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 2 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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 3 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

4 CSCC NCSC ZSCC WSCC TCC SSU NSCC Cincinnati Dayton Columbus Cleveland Toledo Mansfield Zanesville Lima Portsmouth Marietta Fremont INDIANA PENNSYLVANIA KENTUCKY WEST VIRGINIA MICHIGAN Lake Erie RSC ESCC SSCC OHIO ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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. 5 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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 6 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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 7 useful for delivering the labs of the courses that do not require sophisticated lab equipment Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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 8 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Some Other Solutions Purchasing Costly Equipment Equipment Sharing Remote Laboratories Computer Simulations Computer Animations (Virtual Reality etc.) Video Demonstrations Pictures, Imagination Etc… 9 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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 10 THE VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

11 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 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Remote Laboratories at Miami 12 Remote bottle-filling station Magnetic Levitation Fluid Trainer Lab StationQuanser 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 13 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

The Network Architecture 14 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education

Application Interface 15 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Application Interface (continued) 16 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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 17 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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. 18 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Test Groups GROUP 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 19 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Summary of the Qualitative Questionnaire Survey Results RUBRICS GROUP 1: Local StudentsGROUP 2: Distance Students (1=Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Agree, 4=Strongly agree) MEANSDMEANSD The lab sessions were motivating for me to learn more about Industrial Robotics systems The teaching method in lab sessions helped me visualize and understand the manufacturing automation I got familiar with hands on practice of industrial robots with the lessons I learnt in this lab experience This method helped me learn the basics of industrial robot control and programming I would like to have lab sessions like this to help me learn Overall, I have had fun with this lab ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Quantitative Assessment Results GROUP 1 Local Students GROUP 2 Distance Students Grades for Robot Programming Lab Report Grades of Test No significant performance differences between the two groups The 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 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

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 22 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014

Thank You! Questions and Comments are Welcome! Mert Bal, PhD 23 Mert Bal, Assessment of Remote Laboratory Practices in Engineering Technology Distance-Education ASEE 2014 – International Forum – Indianapolis, IN - June 14, 2014