15‐year educational experience on autonomous electronic information devices by flipped classroom and try‐by‐yourself methods

Abstract

Since 2001, the departments of Electrical and Electronics and Information and Communication Electronics Engineering of Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) have jointly given a lecture on autonomous electronic information devices for undergraduate students. According to the on-line questionnaire, 80% of students in 2010-2012 replied that the lecture was useful for their future career. The task given to students was to design and realise an autonomous electronic information devices (so-called 'the IoT-gadgets') by themselves, and conduct a live demonstration in front of their colleagues. The device must have an 'input', 'output', and some 'information processing'. Being aware of the speed of technology evolution as well as the short hours of the lecture, the professor tried not to give direct answers to students' questions on how-to instantly build and program an information device. Instead, the students were told to beware of their 'methods'. This refers to the deductive thinking introduced by René Descartes, and in the lecture's context how students should behave in order to realise the device. In this study, the backgrounds of various associated topics are discussed, such as the UTokyo's educational system, the world's rapid prototyping movement, open hardware, course design, students' reactions, and future directions.

IoT Demonstration Platform for Education and Research

“…It is also known that students put more effort when the problems they are presented with are similar to those they expect to face in the workplace after graduation [11]. Project courses are effective in learning both technological and project management skills [12]- [14], which are important in the working life. The project management performance can also be used in grading of the students.…”

Assessment of Engineering Mathematics in the Context of Distance Learning

“…Therefore, the disadvantage of distance learning based on a digital learning environment is that the methods of assessment are depleted and formalised while feedback could be quite poor. On the other hand, if an automated learning system is implemented the feedback in the digital environment are generated immediately [11], [12].…”