Min Jou | National Taiwan Normal University (original) (raw)

Papers by Min Jou

As mobile learning (ML) becomes more and more popular, teaching methods are gradually adapting to... more As mobile learning (ML) becomes more and more popular, teaching
methods are gradually adapting to flipped classrooms or micro-flipped
classrooms. Many studies have discussed the influence of ML-based
flipped classrooms on students’ learning in a macroscopic way.
However, at the micro-level, the impact of these classrooms on
students’ emotional learning and cognitive flexibility requires further
research–particularly of students of different levels of learning
achievement (low, middle, and high). This study, carried out via both
qualitative and quantitative methods, shows that in learning emotions,
flipped classrooms based on ML had some effect on students’ “selfdirected learning” and “self-efficacy.” Flipped classrooms did more to
improve low achievers’ intrinsic goals (learning motivation),
metacognition (learning strategy), and resource management (learning
strategy) than it did that of middle and high achievers. As for cognitive
flexibility, results further indicated that flipped classrooms allowed low
achievers the freedom to be more self-directed, helping them to feel a
higher degree of “cognitive control” or “cognitive flexibility,” thus
improving their academic achievement. The results of this study lay a
theoretical foundation for designing an effective flipped classroom
environment with differentiated instruction in the future

The developmental characteristics of computational thinking and its relationship with technical s... more The developmental characteristics of
computational thinking and its relationship
with technical skills: taking the department of
engineering as an example

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012

Thanks to the advancement of information and communication technology (ICT), several tools and sy... more Thanks to the advancement of information and communication technology (ICT), several tools and systems have been proposed to provide a quality classroom experience to instructors and students. Nevertheless, the most of them are a brand-new and stand-alone program that could influence users' teaching and learning experiences since users have to spend additional time and efforts to practice and maintain the tools or systems. In fact, in the era of Web 2.0, instructors and students are heavily immersed in various web applications daily, such as Wikis, Flickr, WordPress, and Google web applications, and familiar with the manipulation of these applications. Therefore, the well-known web applications could be a potential new way to engage the instructors and students in meaningful teaching and learning activities. Bearing this in mind, this study aims to apply well-known web applications to propose a web application supported learning environment for supporting classroom teaching and learning activities that can seamlessly enable instructors and students to meld with their daily use of Web 2.0 tools. Through the investigation of a case study, the results revealed that the instructor and students can administer teaching and learning activities efficiently and effectively. In addition, the learning motivation of participated students and interaction between each participant can also be facilitated through engaging in the proposed environment.

Advanced Materials and Processing 2010, 2011

ABSTRACT Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesized using a hydrothermal treatment method. Nanosized ca... more ABSTRACT Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesized using a hydrothermal treatment method. Nanosized calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was used as the calcium source, while (NH4)2HPO4 was used as the phosphorous source. Well-crystallized HAp and a small amount of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) were obtained after the hydrothermal reaction. FT-IR spectra show that under conditions of pH 6 and 250°C, the functional groups of OH- and PO43- were stronger than those under pH 10. This exhibits that the powder synthesized at pH 6 has more HAp phase than that at pH 10. SEM and TEM images show that HAp exhibits a rod-like shape about 10μm long and about 0.7μm wide at pH 6 and 250°C. After hydrothermal reaction at pH 6 and 250°C, most products are rod-like HAp with a small amount of β-TCP synthesized as a byproduct and some residual CaCO3.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2013

In order to overcome the obstacles in traditional experimenting and practical training courses, a... more In order to overcome the obstacles in traditional experimenting and practical training courses, as well as in enhancing the functions of the present e-learning system, the study took sensor network technology as the foundation in developing a web services system. The system will be able to make presentations of the students 'operations and results on an immediate basis, allowing the students to be guided adequately as they face problems during experiment and practical training.

Materials Science Forum, 2008

This paper discusses the magnetic drag force resulting from the relative motion of a permanent ma... more This paper discusses the magnetic drag force resulting from the relative motion of a permanent magnet moving along a finite dimensional conducting plate. The image method with imaginary eddy currents is investigated. Boundary conditions are established to ensure that the eddy currents vanished at the boundaries of the conducting plate. Magnetic drag force is computed based on the eddy current distributions using Lorentz force law. A test system is built to demonstrate the magnetic brakes arose from the electromagnetic interactions.

2010 3rd International Nanoelectronics Conference (INEC), 2010

ABSTRACT La dopant positioning at HfO2 ultra-thin films was successfully achieved by the co-sputt... more ABSTRACT La dopant positioning at HfO2 ultra-thin films was successfully achieved by the co-sputtering method. The depth profiles of graded doping HfLaO (7 nm)/p-Si structures after 850°C RTA were studied. From the nano-AES results, the out-diffusion of Hf atom into Si substrate increases when the La dopant is co-deposited in the upper bond and forming HfLaO/HfO2/Si structures. On the other hand, the out-diffusion of Hf atoms into Si substrate is suppressed when the La is doped in the lower bond and forming HfO2/HfLaO/Si structures. It is found that the chance to form silicate becomes insignificant due to less oxygen out-diffusion into Si in the later case. Above is consistent with the binding energies of our XPS results. The electrical properties of different doping locations were measured and compared. The thickness of silicate layer is suggested to be the origin of leakage current.

Computer-Aided Design and Applications, 2012

An approach is presented for determining which parameters defining the features in a CAD model ne... more An approach is presented for determining which parameters defining the features in a CAD model need to be modified, and by what amount, to optimize component performance. It uses sensitivities computed for the parameters to determine the change required in each to optimize the component. Parametric sensitivity is computed by combining a measure of boundary movement due to a parameter perturbation, known as design velocity, and an adjoint sensitivity map over the boundary. The sensitivity map results from an adjoint analysis and approximates the change in objective function (performance) due to a movement of the boundary. Gradient based optimization is used based on the parametric sensitivities. This presented method is significantly less computationally expensive than alternative approaches, and has the advantage that optimization is based on the parameters defining the CAD model, allowing it to be integrated into design workflows. The efficiency of the approach allows all of the parameters in the CAD model to be used as optimization variables, potentially offering better optimization. The work is immune to many of the issues hampering existing approaches.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2013

The use of computer-aided Simulation to teach engineering-related courses is rapidly expanding in... more The use of computer-aided Simulation to teach engineering-related courses is rapidly expanding in most universities. Yet the effects of computer-aided Simulation on students’ performance and motivation are not yet fully known. We compared the impacts of computer-aided Simulation to college students from academic and vocational high schools.

Advanced Materials Research, 2010

Zinc stannate Zn2SnO4 (ZTO) nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal process utilizing s... more Zinc stannate Zn2SnO4 (ZTO) nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal process utilizing sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) as a weak basic mineralizer. The samples were hydrothermally treated at 150, 200, and 250oC for 48 h. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the highly-crystalline ZTO nanostructure could be formed in a well-dispersed manner for the 250°C sample at a particle size of less than 50 nm. As determined from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results, ZTO nanoparticles are face-centered cubic single crystals agglomerated together. The Raman spectra results showed that the ZTO nanocrystals have a spinel structure. Furthermore, photocatalytic activity was tested with methylene blue (MB) by UV irradiation. The ZTO synthesized by the 2 M Na2CO3 mineralizer at 250oC demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity. The ZTO treated three different ways had three distinct UV-Visible absorption curves, which directly influences their corresponding photocatalytic acti...

Interactive Learning Environments, 2014

ABSTRACT With the development of information technology and popularization of web applications, s... more ABSTRACT With the development of information technology and popularization of web applications, students nowadays have grown used to skimming through information provided through the Internet. This reading habit led them to be incapable of analyzing or integrating information they have received. Hence, knowledge management and critical thinking (CT) have, in recent years, become important topics in higher education. However, there are many web applications that may serve as effective teaching and learning tools. This study therefore proposed a blended learning environment that incorporated useful web applications within a knowledge transformation model to create an educational environment capable of improving CT and knowledge transformation for student users. A semester-long experiment was then conducted to evaluate this learning environment. Results revealed that the proposed approach was effective in improving student CT and knowledge transformation. Students were also satisfied with the courses and teaching methods used by the proposed learning environment which also effectively improved their learning motivation.

Materials Technology: Advanced Performance Materials, 2012

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesised using a hydrothermal method. Nanosized CaCO 3 was used as th... more Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesised using a hydrothermal method. Nanosized CaCO 3 was used as the calcium source, while (NH 4) 2 HPO 4 was used as the phosphorous source. Well crystallised HAp and a small amount of b-tricalcium phosphate (b-TCP) were obtained after the hydrothermal reaction. Fourier transform infrared spectra show that under conditions of pH 6 and 250uC, the functional groups of OH 2 and PO 4 32 were stronger than those under pH 10. This suggests that the powder synthesised at pH 6 has more HAp phase than that at pH 10. Scanning and transmission electron microscope images show that HAp exhibits a rod-like shape at pH 6 and 250uC. After hydrothermal reaction at pH 6 and 250uC, most products are HAp with a small amount of b-TCP synthesised as byproduct and some residual CaCO 3 .

Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2006

A non-contact method, using magnetic drag force principle, was proposed to design the braking sys... more A non-contact method, using magnetic drag force principle, was proposed to design the braking systems to improve the shortcomings of the conventional braking systems. The extensive literature detailing all aspects of the magnetic braking is briefly reviewed, however little of this refers specifically to upright magnetic braking system, which is useful for industries. One of the major issues to design upright magnetic system is to find out the magnetic flux. The changing magnetic flux induces eddy currents in the conductor. These currents dissipate energy in the conductor and generate drag force to slow down the motion. Therefore, a finite element model is developed to analyze the phenomena of magnetic flux density when air gap and materials of track are varied. The verification shows the predicted magnetic flux is within acceptable range with the measured value. The results will facilitate the design of magnetic braking systems.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2013

Electronic engineering industries require technical specialists to operate precision electronic i... more Electronic engineering industries require technical specialists to operate precision electronic instruments. However, limitations in course designs and equipment availability mean that only a few students are able to use the equipment in practical lessons within a limited timeframe. Also, instruction of techniques and skills are still mostly carried out in traditional lecture formats. Student–instructor and student–student interactions are clearly insufficient. When students encounter difficulties in their lesson, they are unable to obtain immediate assistance, resulting in gaps in their understanding. To address this issue, this study aims to create a situated spectrum analyzer learning platform based on situated learning theory. An interactive educational environment is created to instruct on how to operate a spectrum analyzer. A situated-based learning approach was used so that students would not be limited to memorizing concepts. Instead, they would be allowed to integrate and coordinate what they know to strengthen individual concepts and gain better problem solving skills. Additionally, in order to investigate the effect of the approach proposed, an experiment was conducted to evaluate any differences in learning performance, satisfaction, understanding and technical expertise.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2012

ABSTRACT This article describes an implementation of interactive virtual environments that have b... more ABSTRACT This article describes an implementation of interactive virtual environments that have been designed for supporting the education of technical skills in material processing technology. The developed web-based systems provide the capability to train students in the technical skills of material processing technology without the need to work on actual machines in the laboratory. The effect of the developed system was examined both quantitatively and qualitatively. Generally, our results indicated that incorporating online interactive virtual environments into engineering courses can enhance students' technical skills in the operation ofinstruments, process planning and justification of process parameters. Findings also showed that the developed semantic web-based systems were able to facilitate investigation of material processing technology. The results also showed that there were significant improvements in the participants' motivation and learning.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2014

Students learn new knowledge effectively through relevant reflection. Reflection affects how stud... more Students learn new knowledge effectively through relevant reflection. Reflection affects how students interact with learning materials. Studies have found that good reflection abilities allow students to attain better learning motivation, comprehension, and performance. Thus, it is important to help students develop and strengthen their reflection abilities as this can enable them to engage learning materials in a meaningful manner. Face-to-face dialectical conversations are often used by instructors to facilitate student reflection. However, such conventional reflection methods are usually only usable in classroom environments, and could not be adopted for distance learning or after class. Cloud computing could be used to solve this issue. Instructor guidance and prompting for initiating reflection could be seamlessly delivered to the students' digital devices via cloud services. Thus, instructors would be able to facilitate student reflective activities even when outside the classroom. To achieve this objective, this study proposed a cloud-based reflective learning environment to assist instructors and students in developing and strengthening reflection ability during and after actual class sessions. An additional experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in an industrial course. Results show that the learning environment developed by this study is able to effectively facilitate student reflection abilities and enhance their learning motivation.

With the evolution of the surrounding world market, engineers have to propose innovations in prod... more With the evolution of the surrounding world market, engineers have to propose innovations in products and processes. Industrial innovation frequently results from an improved understanding of basic physics. In this paper, an approach to accelerate inventive preliminary design is presented. This method combines the main advantages of CBR (Case Based Reasoning) and TRIZ (Russian acronym for Theory of Solving Inventive Problem) to transfer physics to industrial technology. Based on this synergy, interactive web-based environments are developed. These systems are intended not only to enhance students to become familiar with basic physics, but also to support students in building meaningful links between basic physics and industrial technologies. The evaluation was conducted in a "Special Project Design" course requiring students to design a robot that could carry out several functions. Robotics, an interdisciplinary engineering subject, has been a recurring theme in engineering education. Project-based learning provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. With project-based learning approaches, planning activities and investigations play a critical role in the project process. Through the web-based environments, students can explore the essence of basic physics, design technologies, and the integration of mechatronics. Further, web-based reasoning and meaningful learning modules are developed to scaffold creative design and to enhance student participation, motivation, and learning effectiveness. Quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires and interviews were used to evaluate the effects of the developed system. Findings showed that inquiry modules were able to facilitate investigation and planning activities in product design stages. The responses obtained were very encouraging. Students in the course were appreciative of these ongoing changes and indicated that these were indeed helping them to develop their engineering thinking and design skills, increasing their motivation to study.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2014

ABSTRACT

As mobile learning (ML) becomes more and more popular, teaching methods are gradually adapting to... more As mobile learning (ML) becomes more and more popular, teaching
methods are gradually adapting to flipped classrooms or micro-flipped
classrooms. Many studies have discussed the influence of ML-based
flipped classrooms on students’ learning in a macroscopic way.
However, at the micro-level, the impact of these classrooms on
students’ emotional learning and cognitive flexibility requires further
research–particularly of students of different levels of learning
achievement (low, middle, and high). This study, carried out via both
qualitative and quantitative methods, shows that in learning emotions,
flipped classrooms based on ML had some effect on students’ “selfdirected learning” and “self-efficacy.” Flipped classrooms did more to
improve low achievers’ intrinsic goals (learning motivation),
metacognition (learning strategy), and resource management (learning
strategy) than it did that of middle and high achievers. As for cognitive
flexibility, results further indicated that flipped classrooms allowed low
achievers the freedom to be more self-directed, helping them to feel a
higher degree of “cognitive control” or “cognitive flexibility,” thus
improving their academic achievement. The results of this study lay a
theoretical foundation for designing an effective flipped classroom
environment with differentiated instruction in the future

The developmental characteristics of computational thinking and its relationship with technical s... more The developmental characteristics of
computational thinking and its relationship
with technical skills: taking the department of
engineering as an example

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012

Thanks to the advancement of information and communication technology (ICT), several tools and sy... more Thanks to the advancement of information and communication technology (ICT), several tools and systems have been proposed to provide a quality classroom experience to instructors and students. Nevertheless, the most of them are a brand-new and stand-alone program that could influence users' teaching and learning experiences since users have to spend additional time and efforts to practice and maintain the tools or systems. In fact, in the era of Web 2.0, instructors and students are heavily immersed in various web applications daily, such as Wikis, Flickr, WordPress, and Google web applications, and familiar with the manipulation of these applications. Therefore, the well-known web applications could be a potential new way to engage the instructors and students in meaningful teaching and learning activities. Bearing this in mind, this study aims to apply well-known web applications to propose a web application supported learning environment for supporting classroom teaching and learning activities that can seamlessly enable instructors and students to meld with their daily use of Web 2.0 tools. Through the investigation of a case study, the results revealed that the instructor and students can administer teaching and learning activities efficiently and effectively. In addition, the learning motivation of participated students and interaction between each participant can also be facilitated through engaging in the proposed environment.

Advanced Materials and Processing 2010, 2011

ABSTRACT Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesized using a hydrothermal treatment method. Nanosized ca... more ABSTRACT Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesized using a hydrothermal treatment method. Nanosized calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was used as the calcium source, while (NH4)2HPO4 was used as the phosphorous source. Well-crystallized HAp and a small amount of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) were obtained after the hydrothermal reaction. FT-IR spectra show that under conditions of pH 6 and 250°C, the functional groups of OH- and PO43- were stronger than those under pH 10. This exhibits that the powder synthesized at pH 6 has more HAp phase than that at pH 10. SEM and TEM images show that HAp exhibits a rod-like shape about 10μm long and about 0.7μm wide at pH 6 and 250°C. After hydrothermal reaction at pH 6 and 250°C, most products are rod-like HAp with a small amount of β-TCP synthesized as a byproduct and some residual CaCO3.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2013

In order to overcome the obstacles in traditional experimenting and practical training courses, a... more In order to overcome the obstacles in traditional experimenting and practical training courses, as well as in enhancing the functions of the present e-learning system, the study took sensor network technology as the foundation in developing a web services system. The system will be able to make presentations of the students 'operations and results on an immediate basis, allowing the students to be guided adequately as they face problems during experiment and practical training.

Materials Science Forum, 2008

This paper discusses the magnetic drag force resulting from the relative motion of a permanent ma... more This paper discusses the magnetic drag force resulting from the relative motion of a permanent magnet moving along a finite dimensional conducting plate. The image method with imaginary eddy currents is investigated. Boundary conditions are established to ensure that the eddy currents vanished at the boundaries of the conducting plate. Magnetic drag force is computed based on the eddy current distributions using Lorentz force law. A test system is built to demonstrate the magnetic brakes arose from the electromagnetic interactions.

2010 3rd International Nanoelectronics Conference (INEC), 2010

ABSTRACT La dopant positioning at HfO2 ultra-thin films was successfully achieved by the co-sputt... more ABSTRACT La dopant positioning at HfO2 ultra-thin films was successfully achieved by the co-sputtering method. The depth profiles of graded doping HfLaO (7 nm)/p-Si structures after 850°C RTA were studied. From the nano-AES results, the out-diffusion of Hf atom into Si substrate increases when the La dopant is co-deposited in the upper bond and forming HfLaO/HfO2/Si structures. On the other hand, the out-diffusion of Hf atoms into Si substrate is suppressed when the La is doped in the lower bond and forming HfO2/HfLaO/Si structures. It is found that the chance to form silicate becomes insignificant due to less oxygen out-diffusion into Si in the later case. Above is consistent with the binding energies of our XPS results. The electrical properties of different doping locations were measured and compared. The thickness of silicate layer is suggested to be the origin of leakage current.

Computer-Aided Design and Applications, 2012

An approach is presented for determining which parameters defining the features in a CAD model ne... more An approach is presented for determining which parameters defining the features in a CAD model need to be modified, and by what amount, to optimize component performance. It uses sensitivities computed for the parameters to determine the change required in each to optimize the component. Parametric sensitivity is computed by combining a measure of boundary movement due to a parameter perturbation, known as design velocity, and an adjoint sensitivity map over the boundary. The sensitivity map results from an adjoint analysis and approximates the change in objective function (performance) due to a movement of the boundary. Gradient based optimization is used based on the parametric sensitivities. This presented method is significantly less computationally expensive than alternative approaches, and has the advantage that optimization is based on the parameters defining the CAD model, allowing it to be integrated into design workflows. The efficiency of the approach allows all of the parameters in the CAD model to be used as optimization variables, potentially offering better optimization. The work is immune to many of the issues hampering existing approaches.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2013

The use of computer-aided Simulation to teach engineering-related courses is rapidly expanding in... more The use of computer-aided Simulation to teach engineering-related courses is rapidly expanding in most universities. Yet the effects of computer-aided Simulation on students’ performance and motivation are not yet fully known. We compared the impacts of computer-aided Simulation to college students from academic and vocational high schools.

Advanced Materials Research, 2010

Zinc stannate Zn2SnO4 (ZTO) nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal process utilizing s... more Zinc stannate Zn2SnO4 (ZTO) nanoparticles were synthesized via a hydrothermal process utilizing sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) as a weak basic mineralizer. The samples were hydrothermally treated at 150, 200, and 250oC for 48 h. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the highly-crystalline ZTO nanostructure could be formed in a well-dispersed manner for the 250°C sample at a particle size of less than 50 nm. As determined from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results, ZTO nanoparticles are face-centered cubic single crystals agglomerated together. The Raman spectra results showed that the ZTO nanocrystals have a spinel structure. Furthermore, photocatalytic activity was tested with methylene blue (MB) by UV irradiation. The ZTO synthesized by the 2 M Na2CO3 mineralizer at 250oC demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity. The ZTO treated three different ways had three distinct UV-Visible absorption curves, which directly influences their corresponding photocatalytic acti...

Interactive Learning Environments, 2014

ABSTRACT With the development of information technology and popularization of web applications, s... more ABSTRACT With the development of information technology and popularization of web applications, students nowadays have grown used to skimming through information provided through the Internet. This reading habit led them to be incapable of analyzing or integrating information they have received. Hence, knowledge management and critical thinking (CT) have, in recent years, become important topics in higher education. However, there are many web applications that may serve as effective teaching and learning tools. This study therefore proposed a blended learning environment that incorporated useful web applications within a knowledge transformation model to create an educational environment capable of improving CT and knowledge transformation for student users. A semester-long experiment was then conducted to evaluate this learning environment. Results revealed that the proposed approach was effective in improving student CT and knowledge transformation. Students were also satisfied with the courses and teaching methods used by the proposed learning environment which also effectively improved their learning motivation.

Materials Technology: Advanced Performance Materials, 2012

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesised using a hydrothermal method. Nanosized CaCO 3 was used as th... more Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesised using a hydrothermal method. Nanosized CaCO 3 was used as the calcium source, while (NH 4) 2 HPO 4 was used as the phosphorous source. Well crystallised HAp and a small amount of b-tricalcium phosphate (b-TCP) were obtained after the hydrothermal reaction. Fourier transform infrared spectra show that under conditions of pH 6 and 250uC, the functional groups of OH 2 and PO 4 32 were stronger than those under pH 10. This suggests that the powder synthesised at pH 6 has more HAp phase than that at pH 10. Scanning and transmission electron microscope images show that HAp exhibits a rod-like shape at pH 6 and 250uC. After hydrothermal reaction at pH 6 and 250uC, most products are HAp with a small amount of b-TCP synthesised as byproduct and some residual CaCO 3 .

Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2006

A non-contact method, using magnetic drag force principle, was proposed to design the braking sys... more A non-contact method, using magnetic drag force principle, was proposed to design the braking systems to improve the shortcomings of the conventional braking systems. The extensive literature detailing all aspects of the magnetic braking is briefly reviewed, however little of this refers specifically to upright magnetic braking system, which is useful for industries. One of the major issues to design upright magnetic system is to find out the magnetic flux. The changing magnetic flux induces eddy currents in the conductor. These currents dissipate energy in the conductor and generate drag force to slow down the motion. Therefore, a finite element model is developed to analyze the phenomena of magnetic flux density when air gap and materials of track are varied. The verification shows the predicted magnetic flux is within acceptable range with the measured value. The results will facilitate the design of magnetic braking systems.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2013

Electronic engineering industries require technical specialists to operate precision electronic i... more Electronic engineering industries require technical specialists to operate precision electronic instruments. However, limitations in course designs and equipment availability mean that only a few students are able to use the equipment in practical lessons within a limited timeframe. Also, instruction of techniques and skills are still mostly carried out in traditional lecture formats. Student–instructor and student–student interactions are clearly insufficient. When students encounter difficulties in their lesson, they are unable to obtain immediate assistance, resulting in gaps in their understanding. To address this issue, this study aims to create a situated spectrum analyzer learning platform based on situated learning theory. An interactive educational environment is created to instruct on how to operate a spectrum analyzer. A situated-based learning approach was used so that students would not be limited to memorizing concepts. Instead, they would be allowed to integrate and coordinate what they know to strengthen individual concepts and gain better problem solving skills. Additionally, in order to investigate the effect of the approach proposed, an experiment was conducted to evaluate any differences in learning performance, satisfaction, understanding and technical expertise.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2012

ABSTRACT This article describes an implementation of interactive virtual environments that have b... more ABSTRACT This article describes an implementation of interactive virtual environments that have been designed for supporting the education of technical skills in material processing technology. The developed web-based systems provide the capability to train students in the technical skills of material processing technology without the need to work on actual machines in the laboratory. The effect of the developed system was examined both quantitatively and qualitatively. Generally, our results indicated that incorporating online interactive virtual environments into engineering courses can enhance students' technical skills in the operation ofinstruments, process planning and justification of process parameters. Findings also showed that the developed semantic web-based systems were able to facilitate investigation of material processing technology. The results also showed that there were significant improvements in the participants' motivation and learning.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2014

Students learn new knowledge effectively through relevant reflection. Reflection affects how stud... more Students learn new knowledge effectively through relevant reflection. Reflection affects how students interact with learning materials. Studies have found that good reflection abilities allow students to attain better learning motivation, comprehension, and performance. Thus, it is important to help students develop and strengthen their reflection abilities as this can enable them to engage learning materials in a meaningful manner. Face-to-face dialectical conversations are often used by instructors to facilitate student reflection. However, such conventional reflection methods are usually only usable in classroom environments, and could not be adopted for distance learning or after class. Cloud computing could be used to solve this issue. Instructor guidance and prompting for initiating reflection could be seamlessly delivered to the students' digital devices via cloud services. Thus, instructors would be able to facilitate student reflective activities even when outside the classroom. To achieve this objective, this study proposed a cloud-based reflective learning environment to assist instructors and students in developing and strengthening reflection ability during and after actual class sessions. An additional experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in an industrial course. Results show that the learning environment developed by this study is able to effectively facilitate student reflection abilities and enhance their learning motivation.

With the evolution of the surrounding world market, engineers have to propose innovations in prod... more With the evolution of the surrounding world market, engineers have to propose innovations in products and processes. Industrial innovation frequently results from an improved understanding of basic physics. In this paper, an approach to accelerate inventive preliminary design is presented. This method combines the main advantages of CBR (Case Based Reasoning) and TRIZ (Russian acronym for Theory of Solving Inventive Problem) to transfer physics to industrial technology. Based on this synergy, interactive web-based environments are developed. These systems are intended not only to enhance students to become familiar with basic physics, but also to support students in building meaningful links between basic physics and industrial technologies. The evaluation was conducted in a "Special Project Design" course requiring students to design a robot that could carry out several functions. Robotics, an interdisciplinary engineering subject, has been a recurring theme in engineering education. Project-based learning provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. With project-based learning approaches, planning activities and investigations play a critical role in the project process. Through the web-based environments, students can explore the essence of basic physics, design technologies, and the integration of mechatronics. Further, web-based reasoning and meaningful learning modules are developed to scaffold creative design and to enhance student participation, motivation, and learning effectiveness. Quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires and interviews were used to evaluate the effects of the developed system. Findings showed that inquiry modules were able to facilitate investigation and planning activities in product design stages. The responses obtained were very encouraging. Students in the course were appreciative of these ongoing changes and indicated that these were indeed helping them to develop their engineering thinking and design skills, increasing their motivation to study.

Interactive Learning Environments, 2014

ABSTRACT