Development and Evaluation of Mechatronics Learning System in a Web-based Environment

The development of remote laboratory suitable for the reinforcement of undergraduate level teaching of mechatronics is important. For the reason, a Web-based mechatronics learning system, called the RECOLAB (REmote COntrol LABoratory), for remote learning in engineering education has been developed in this study. The web-based environment is an educational technology for learning the principles and methodology of performing operations on a mechatronics rig at any time and from any location through the Internet. This study concentrates on a color identification experiment as a case study to illustrate the processes involved in the development and evaluation of the remote experimental procedure. The study was carried out with 55 students at National Changhua University of Education, in Taiwan. Students were divided into two groups with an equal number of students at the same academic level in each. One group was labeled as “Traditional” (without RECOLAB support) and the other “RECOLAB” (with support). The evaluation results elicit some relevant facts: (1) Students mainly agreed that the experiment was challenging and interesting and that they learned useful things during the laboratory. (2) Students valued the process performance. (3) Students enjoyed the way that the classes were devised. They valued the fact that participation was encouraged. (4) The students were not content with the number of laboratory practices and the number of hours assigned to the practices. (5) After evaluating the results, the teachers believe that the experiment significantly improved the quality of the laboratory. This study demonstrates RECOLAB’s effectiveness in helping students to understand the concepts and master the technologies for the web-based mechatronics monitoring and control learning system. The architecture proposed in this study is not dependent on specific hardware or software configuration, it represents a generic infrastructure.