Asee peer logo

Employing Live Scripts for Implementing Virtual Laboratories and Activities

Download Paper |

Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Digital Methods in Mechanics: Teaching with Digital Tools

Tagged Division

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

Page Count

14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43266

Permanent URL

https://sftp.asee.org/43266

Download Count

168

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Rick Hill University of Detroit, Mercy

visit author page

Dr. Richard Hill is a Professor and Assistant Dean in the College of Engineering & Science at University of Detroit Mercy. Dr. Hill received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1998, and an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2000. He joined the faculty of Detroit Mercy in 2008 after receiving a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research interests lie in the areas of vehicle control, control and diagnosis of discrete-event systems, modular and hierarchical control, and engineering education. Dr. Hill also has a strong interest in diversifying the STEM pipeline and leads the innovating Detroit’s Robotics Agile Workforce (iDRAW) program in partnership with underserved Detroit-area high schools.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Significant research exists demonstrating the benefits of active and inquiry-based instruction for student engagement, learning, and knowledge retention. The emergence of ever improving software tools provide instructors valuable resources for developing virtual activities to be used within lecture courses, or in place of physical laboratory experiments. This paper describes the use of the MATLAB Live Editor for creating interactive live scripts. These live scripts combine code, formatted text, graphics, and live controls such as numeric sliders, buttons, and drop-down lists, for the creation of lectures and virtual activities that illustrate complex topics through interactive figures and animations. When deployed as in-class activities for students and as interactive homework assignments, students are able to build intuition for course material and construct meaning for themselves. This paper provides techniques and examples for developing and employing live scripts for teaching a range of topics from mathematics, engineering, and science. The author has piloted these techniques in online and in-person courses related to modeling and control over the past two years at University of Detroit Mercy. Student survey data from the winter 2023 semester indicates students found significant value from the live script activities implemented in their course.

Hill, R. (2023, June), Employing Live Scripts for Implementing Virtual Laboratories and Activities Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43266

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2023 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015