Javier García Zubía

Educational software for digital electronics: BOOLE-DEUSTO

BOOLE-DEUSTO is a software program intended for the analysis and design of simple digital electronic circuits. BOOLE-DEUSTO has been developed as an aid for undergraduate students and teachers, not for professional electronics designers. This paper presents BOOLE-DEUSTOs main characteristics, its intended field of use, and our teaching experience with it.

Smartphones and teenagers, threat or opportunity

Within the 3rd International Digital Citizenship Conference celebrated in San Sebastian-Spain in May 8th, we took part in a round table debate about the use of Smartphone in education with teenagers. There is an open discussion about the benefits or threats of using such an innovative technology. Usually the main trend is to forbid the use of mobile phones in the classroom. We bet for considering the use of any technology if it can benefit somehow our learning/teaching process. Smartphones are very powerful devices that can be used in many innovative ways. We can profit their availability, since many students have one. In this paper we analyze how different authors understand mobile learning, we review previous experiences and their results in educational institutions using mobile learning, and we reflect on the threats and opportunities of using mobile devices in education. Finally we show an approach to a new educational paradigm that is being implemented thanks to the educational revolution derived from the use of mobile devices and we provide simple guidelines for its implementation.

WEB 2.0 control architecture for industrial robots

This paper presents a new generation of warehouse robots [1] based on micro-servers and web 2.0 technologies [2]. This new technology provides a total integration with ERP software systems and with a real-time Ethernet network [3], which transports all the communications among the robots. Furthermore, micro-servers turn field devices into intelligent ones, decentralizing all the system and making accessibility and remote configuration of the robot easier, because it does by native way. This novel technology offers a faster, more robust and ecologic service than the classic solutions. A robotic industrial installation has been built, installed and checked successfully. The supervisory and control software is free and based on Web 2.0 technologies. This paper presents a new paradigm for classic architecture applied for robot control [4] and general automations.

Actions taken to include remote labs in secondary education

The use of remote laboratories has been received with great interest in secondary schools since these resources are seen as a great chance to convert into practice theoretical contents, especially in areas such as electronics, robotics or control systems. In this publication the benefits from their usage and the rationale for the inclusion of these resources are depicted as well as a description of the actions taken in order to approach Golab initiative to secondary school.

Lab sessions in VISIR laboratories

Experimental activities with real components are an essential part of all courses including or devoted to electrical and electronic circuits theory and practice. The knowledge triangle composed of hand-written exercises, simulations and traditional lab experiments has been enriched with the possibility for students to conduct real experiments over the Internet, using remote labs. This tutorial is devoted to one such remote lab named Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR). The Global Online Laboratory Consortium (GOLC) elected VISIR as the best remote controlled laboratory in the world, at the first time this distinction was awarded. At the end of this tutorial, attendees are expected to know what is VISIR, what can (not) be done with it, who is currently using it, and how can one integrate it in a given course curriculum.

Planning and designing remote experiment for school curriculum

This paper describes the planning and design remote laboratory for school curriculum with support of secondary school teachers as a focus group. The pros and cons of different types of laboratories applying in practical context are discussed. The mock-up designed in a paper prototyping format is presented. The results of the performed activity was applied for final development of remote experiment - Archimedes Principles.