10th International Conference of Mechanical Engineering "COMEC 2019" -8th Workshop of Mechanical Engineering Teaching

10th International Conference of Mechanical Engineering

COMEC 2019

Teaching technology in Early Education as a pathway to future Mechanical Engineers

Abstract

Early STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education is one of the main pillars in getting young adults involved and interested in STEM subjects. If basic concepts about programming, controlling and robotics are picked up early in education then interest and self-efficacy can be increased and lead to an increased willingness in young adults to consider a STEM orientated career. Using A situated learning approach and by utilizing the for these purpose specifically developed on Single Board Computer (SBC) Raspberry Pi, we were able to use existing toolboxes which enables the educator and the learner to engage collectively with technology on a software and hardware level. Most importantly, by using open educational Ressources (OER) and free and open source software (OSS), experimenting in class can be achieved by pooling class and online resources and being able to see the Raspberry Pi as a learning object itself to be discovered and experimented with. So far the setup has been used as an intervention tool in German and Guatemalan secondary schools to change perceptions towards STEM subject. The goal is to show that the setup can be used throughout secondary and higher education, specifically STEM subjects such as Mechanical Engineering, to enable continuous learning on one extremely flexible platform. The Raspberry Pi is now used by logistic companies, smaller and bigger tech companies and other branches as an affordable, easy to manipulate tool for basic programming, data management or mechanical controlling.

Resumen

Early STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education is one of the main pillars in getting young adults involved and interested in STEM subjects. If basic concepts about programming, controlling and robotics are picked up early in education then interest and self-efficacy can be increased and lead to an increased willingness in young adults to consider a STEM orientated career. Using A situated learning approach and by utilizing the for these purpose specifically developed on Single Board Computer (SBC) Raspberry Pi, we were able to use existing toolboxes which enables the educator and the learner to engage collectively with technology on a software and hardware level. Most importantly, by using open educational Ressources (OER) and free and open source software (OSS), experimenting in class can be achieved by pooling class and online resources and being able to see the Raspberry Pi as a learning object itself to be discovered and experimented with. So far the setup has been used as an intervention tool in German and Guatemalan secondary schools to change perceptions towards STEM subject. The goal is to show that the setup can be used throughout secondary and higher education, specifically STEM subjects such as Mechanical Engineering, to enable continuous learning on one extremely flexible platform. The Raspberry Pi is now used by logistic companies, smaller and bigger tech companies and other branches as an affordable, easy to manipulate tool for basic programming, data management or mechanical controlling.

About The Speaker

Hannes Tegelbeckers

Hannes Tegelbeckers

Otto-von-Guericke University, Germany Flag of Cuba
Practical Info
Presentation
English (US)
Not defined
15 minutes
Not defined
Authors
Philipp Schüßler
Dr. Stefan Brämer
Linda Vieback
Hannes Tegelbeckers
Keywords
Early STEM Education
ICT in Schools
Open Educational Resources
Raspberry Pi
Situated Teaching- Learning Environments