Ad anced quiz de elopmen o s uden sel -lea ning
in Powe Gene a ion, T ansmission and Dis ibu ion
San iago Boga a,1Mon se a Co balán2 and Inmaculada Plaza3
1Depa men o Elec ical Enginee ing, ESEIAAT-UPC, Te assa,
Spain
2Depa men o Elec onics Enginee ing, ESEIAAT-UPC,
Te assa, Spain
3Depa men o Elec onics Enginee ing, Poly echnic Uni e si y
School o Te uel-Uni e si y o Za agoza, Te uel, Spain
E-mail: boga [email protected]
Abs ac S uden s’ lea ning can be imp o ed by using online quizzes wi h a
aluable eedback, especially in la ge g oups, making i e y in e es ing o Enginee ing
subjec s which a e based on ma hema ics. This pape p esen s he e alua ion o an
online quizzes expe ience based on a case s udy in wo uni e si y subjec s. Quizzes
we e c ea ed by using Wi is Quizzes (WQ) ha can egis e he comple e solu ion wi h
all he s eps in ol ed. WQ has a calcula o ha allows us o sol e he ma hema ical pa
o he quiz. The i s aim o he online WQ expe ience is o p o ide eedback o s uden s
h ough au oma ic g ading and clues o ind he co ec answe s. The second aim is o
p omo e au onomous s uden lea ning. The eache s also ha e excellen eedback abou
aul y in e p e a ions o weaknesses in he s uden s’ unde s anding. Consequen ly
eache s can p o ide co ec i e in o ma ion o cla i y ideas abou wha hey wan o be
unde s ood and wha is unde s ood by s uden s. WQ allow eache s o de elop
algo i hms o he quizzes by using andom da a, igu es ealized h ough p og amming,
and mul iple solu ions ha depend on he alues o a able. The eaching expe ience o
using WQ has shown ha his ool can be use ul in uni e si y echnological subjec s
wi h la ge g oups ha equi e ad anced and cus omized quizzes.
Keywo ds Moodle; online quizzes; sel -lea ning; powe sys em
An excellen me hod o eaching is he p oblem-based lea ning o unde s anding
enginee ing subjec s in and ou o he class1. P oblem-based lea ning is widely adop ed
in small g oups bu eache s need powe ul ools o ex end his app oach o la ge
g oups. The use o web-based lea ning and online assessmen ools is inc easing.2-3
Ac i e lea ning4 o enginee ing s uden s is encou aged by he use o online ools, and
he quali y o online eaching and lea ning in enginee ing will imp o e, as online ools
imp o e.5
Online quizzes can p o ide eache s excellen eedback abou aul y in e p e a ions
o weaknesses in he s uden s’ unde s anding, allowing he eache o know he
s uden s’ p og ess and how hey p oceed.6
Many lea ning managemen sys ems o e quizzing ools o eco d s uden s’
pe o mance. QuizMake and iQuizmake allow us o gene a e, adminis e and sco e
simple quizzes (mul iple choice and ue/ alse ques ions). iQuizmake allows us o
c ea e quizzes o mobile de ices. Flinde s Lea ning Online o Flinde s Uni e si y is
based on quizzes consis ing o a la ge a ie y o ques ion ypes, including mul iple
choice, ue- alse, sho answe , d ag and d op images and calcula ed ques ions in o he
ex / . QuizS a is a Web-based quiz make ha enables o c ea e quizzes online. The
Ho Po a oes sui e includes six applica ions, enabling you o c ea e in e ac i e mul iple-
choice, sho -answe , jumbled-sen ence, c osswo d, ma ching/o de ing and gap- ill
online exe cises. The e a e many ools o pe o m quizzes because hey a e conside ed
use ul . In gene al, some quizzes con ain only he calcula ed ques ions ha suppo a
o mula and pe haps some a iable o he o mula suppo s a ange o alues o andom
ques ion s a emen s. Then, he ques ions a e di e en o each s uden . Howe e , his
ype o ques ion is no enough o any enginee ing subjec whe e mo e ma hema ical
calcula ion is equi ed. Some au ho s use he Ma lab so wa e o a oid ha p oblem.
Howe e , hey ha e o achie e in e ope abili y be ween Moodle and Ma lab o each
hei goals.7-8 O e all i is a challenge o inco po a e ma hema ical ools in he LMS.
A he Poly echnic Uni e si y o Ca alonia (UPC), Spain, he lea ning managemen
sys em is based on Moodle and is called A enea. Moodle allows us o au oma ically
manage, w i e and assess he quizzes. Wi is Quizzes (WQ)9 upg ades Moodle quizzes
so no in e ope abili y issues a e aking place. UPC has chosen he WQ and calcula o
(Wi is Cas)9 because hey can be used o sol e any ma hema ical p oblem in any o he
o e ed enginee ing subjec s. In ac , cu en ly WQ and calcula o a e inco po a ed in
A enea o all bachelo ’s deg ees, mas e ’s and doc o al p og ams o e ed by he UPC.10
Apa om he expe ience shown in his pape WQ also ha e been used in o he
subjec s as a Calculus Cou se o he Bachelo 's deg ees in he UPC.11
This pape p esen s he e alua ion o an online quizzes expe ience, based on a case
s udy o one deg ee subjec and speci ically in one mas e subjec o which ad anced
quizzes we e c ea ed. WQ a e used o de eloping ad anced cus om quizzes wi h
di e en solu ions (depending on he p oposed design), whe e igu es a e di e en
(depending on he andomly gene a ed da a), and whe e he p ac ical p oblem mus be
sol ed using he app op ia e s anda ds o manu ac u e da a ables. The main aim o he
online quizzes expe ience is o p o ide mo e p oblems and eedback o s uden s h ough
au oma ic g ading and clues o ind he co ec answe s in subjec s wi h many s uden s.
Wi is Quizzes
Online WQ ha e been o e ed in esponse o he need o p o ide lexible lea ning
choices o coho s o s uden s wi h di e en ma hema ical backg ounds. WQ, c ea ed
by he ma hema ical so wa e company Ma hs o Mo e allows sel -quizzes in o ou o
class. Wi is calcula o 9 is in eg a ed in WQ. This powe ul ool o e s many
ma hema ical unc ions, e.g., in eg als, limi s calcula ion, solu ion o di e en ial
equa ions, ma ix and polynomials calcula ion, unc ion g aphing in 2D o 3D and
symbolic equa ions manipula ion, using a ional, i a ional o complex numbe s.
Making i easie o s uden s o sol e p ac ical p oblems despi e he complexi y o he
ma hema ical solu ion. Wi is calcula o co e s all ma hema ical opics om p ima y
school o uni e si y le el (Calculus, Algeb a, Geome y, Di e en ial Equa ions...).
WQ also includes a p og amming language ha combines p og amming sen ences
wi h ma hema ical capabili ies, so i allows us o de elop pe sonalized quizzes whose
complex a i hme ic ope a o s, andom da a and condi ional ins uc ions, cons i u e an
imp o emen on Moodle. WQ allows he in eg a ion o andomness a any le el: in he
ques ion da a, in a g aph, o in he de ini ion o a ma hema ical objec , and implemen s
all he s eps in ol ed in he ma hema ical solu ion, while also pe o ming au oma ic
co ec ion.
WQ e i y, no only he nume ical alues, bu also symbolic compa isons be ween
s uden answe s and p og amming exp essions. The abili y o wo k wi is symbolically
esembles some au oma ed p og amming assessmen sys em (APAS) made o e alua e
p og amming exe cises. APAS 22-25 is a compu e aided app oach o check s uden s
p og amming exe cises, wi hou he incon enience o doing hem. In compu e science
he eache s a e challenged o au oma ically co ec syn ax e o s and seman ic e o s
ha happen when he s a emen s w i en, a e g amma ically co ec bu logically w ong.
All ma hema ical i ems a e gene a ed in a single calcula ion sec ion and hey can be
used anywhe e in he con en 12 In Re .12 Wi is Company shows us all he s eps o sol e
a ques ion as an example. F om he poin o iew o he s uden , once he has made some
calcula ions using Wi is calcula o , he jus has o click he Copy answe bu on and i
will au oma ically appea in he o mula edi o . Then he s uden submi s hei answe
and au oma ically ob ain he ma k o hei submission. F om he poin o iew o he
eache , Wi is company p esen s he calcula ions pe o med in he de elopmen o he
same ques ion.
WQ can be success ully used o bo h o ma i e and summa i e assessmen . The
au oma ic e-assessmen can make he eache 's wo k mo e e icien , because e i ying
he assignmen s manually and gi ing eedback o la ge g oups is a ime consuming ask.
Mo eo e , he e sa ili y o Wi is allows each s uden o sol e a di e en quiz.
Audio isual ma e ial o imp o e Wi is lea ning
In he p e ious pilo p ojec using WQ in he subjec en i led Elec ical Ci cui s, he
s uden s we e in oduced o he ope a ion o he calcula o ecei ing a 20-minu e class
p esen a ion. They we e p o ided wi h a u o ial and hey we e able o iew a quiz
sol ed p e iously, which se ed as an example. In he opinion su ey, s uden s said
hey had di icul y lea ning he Wi is calcula o syn ax. The e o e, au ho s pa icipa ed
in an educa ional p ojec o gene a ing audio isual ma e ial (AM) o help s uden s
lea n. Video esou ces ha e been used widely and wi h success in on- and o -campus
enginee ing educa ion, see o ins ance Re . 16-17. We chose MediaTIC o handle he
ideo componen o ou cou ses. The sys em is composed o one compu e o he
au ho and ano he compu e o cap u ing and encoding he ma e ial in o an mp4 ideo,
wi h he au ho 's ideo and he digi al con en p esen ed on he compu e as illus a ed
in Figu e 1. The s uden s wa ching he ideo ha e he eeling o being in class, because
hey a e wa ching he lec u e and he p esen a ion a he same ime. This kind o o ma
is being used in o he Spanish uni e si ies. AM does no con ain a comple e u o ial o
he ool, bu only highligh s some issues chosen by eache s.
The i s AM shows he ea u es o WQ and he windows ha make up he wo king
en i onmen : s a emen , calcula o , WIRIS edi o and g ade ob ained, and i s
applica ion in an EC quiz. In he o he en AMs, he Wi is calcula o menus a e
shown18. Figu e 1 shows he analysis menu o he calcula o ha is used o sol e an
in eg al, de i a i e o limi . All his ma e ial eplaces he class oom p esen a ion.
Figu e 1. Audio isual ma e ial image showing he analysis menu WIRIS Calcula o
Ad anced quiz de elopmen using Wi is Quizzes
Powe Gene a ion, T ansmission and Dis ibu ion (PGTD) and Elec ical Ci cui s
(EC) a e augh in he UPC’s Te assa School o Audio isual, Ae onau ical, and
Indus ial Enginee ing (ESEIAAT). The EC cou se is o e ed du ing he ou h semes e
o he Bachelo 's deg ees in Ae ospace Technology Enginee ing and Ae ospace Vehicle
Enginee ing, and PGTD du ing he second semes e o he Mas e 's deg ee in Indus ial
Enginee ing. In he PGTD subjec ad anced quizzes a e used ha we e no necessa y
o EC's subjec (Re .19).
WQ gi e s uden s eedback on hei mis akes, e i ying no only he nume ical
alues, bu also allowing symbolic compa isons be ween s uden answe s and
p og amming exp essions. These quizzes no only use ques ions wi h andom da a, bu
hey a e also pe sonalized o each s uden by using:
• igu es con olled by p og amming algo i hms,
• di e en solu ion op ions depending on he da a,
• ables ex ac ed om ca alogues and s anda ds.
S uden s o PGTD comple ed h ee quizzes. The aim o he i s quiz is o s uden s
o lea n how o model a powe line. Da a om he quiz a e: he line leng h andomly
selec ed om a alue lis , he wi e diame e , he wi e esis ance pe uni leng h, he
igu e wi h he geome ic wi e dis ibu ion, and he dis ances in me e s. Wi e
dis ibu ion is andomly selec ed om a able (Figu e 2), which co esponds o ele en
s anda d high ol age owe s. In his case he igu e is con olled by p og amming
algo i hms and able da a a e ex ac ed om ca alogues. The unknown alues a e: he
elec ical pa ame e s, he o e all impedance and admi ance, and he ansmission
coe icien s.
Figu e 2. Geome ic wi e dis ibu ion used o he o e head line.
The aim o he second quiz is o s uden s o analyse he powe line’s ope a ing
condi ions by using he model as simply as possible, so di e en solu ion op ions can be
p o ided depending on he da a. Randomly selec ed da a om he alue lis s a e: he
elec ic pa ame e s, line leng h, ol age and powe deli e ed a he ecei ing end. The
unknown alues a e: ol age, cu en and powe a he sending end. The quiz mus be
sol ed using di e en equa ions, depending on he leng h; so h ee op ions a e possible,
depending on he accep ed le el o simpli ica ion.
The aim o he hi d quiz is o s uden s o co ec ly use he s anda ds. Da a andomly
selec ed om alue lis s a e: he ype o insula ion, he ype o wi e ins alla ion, he wi e
leng hs, he ol age d op in each s e ch, he consumed powe , and he powe ac o o
each load. De eloped algo i hms allow andom alues o a i e a a possible solu ion;
o he wise, i gene a es new andom da a o ensu e ha he solu ion is possible. The
ins alla ion scheme (Figu e 3) and coppe conduc i i y se e as ixed da a. The wi e
sec ions o s e ches A-D, D-H and D-F a e he unknown alues o he low ol age
ins alla ion wi h dis ibu ed loads. The selec ed sec ion mus sa is y he cu en
s anda ds.
[
Figu e 3. Low Vol age ins alla ion analysed.
E e y s uden has di e en da a ha leads o di e en solu ions. In his way WQ has
p o en o be a use ul ool o pa icula izing quizzes, in which s uden s mus use ables
o ind solu ions, ha co espond o s anda ds o he componen ea u es p o ided by
manu ac u e s. This is a common equi emen in echnological subjec s. Howe e ,
because o he high eaching load in ol ed, he adi ional me hod makes i di icul o
in oduce much a iabili y.
Quizzes shown in his sec ion could be ex ended o o he ma hema ics-based subjec s.
Online quizzes expe ience
This expe ience s a ed wi h a p e ious pilo p ojec using WQ in EC. Lessons lea ned
we e explained in Re . 19. The posi i e esul s encou age us o ex end he expe ience.
So a new p ojec was designed and de eloped o wo schola yea s. The i s s uden
assessmen indica ed ha quizzes could be posi i e o hei lea ning; so, du ing he
second academic yea he p ojec was con inued in he subjec o EC and also ex ended
o PGTD.
Du ing he i s yea , s uden s who pa icipa ed in he expe imen al g oup
commen ed on he excessi e wo kload (se en quizzes). The numbe o a emp s was
deemed o be excessi e (an a e age alue o 6) and hey we e no e lec ed in he inal
g ade. The e o e, du ing he second yea o he p ojec he numbe o quizzes and
a emp s we e limi ed o h ee, o bo h EC and PGTD. The a e age ime needed o
pe o m a quiz was 1 hou , al hough he quiz was enabled o a week, so ha s uden s
could o ganize hei ime acco dingly wi hin ha pe iod.
To assess whe he he quizzes enhance lea ning, s uden g ades o he quizzes and inal
g ades ( inal esul o he academic yea ) we e conside ed. Fi s , he ou comes o EC
a e shown. Figu e 4 shows he pe cen age o s uden s who achie ed each g ade, bo h o
he quizzes and o he inal g ade, and including he wo academic yea s o he p ojec .
The s uden s who comple ed he quizzes du ing he i s and second yea we e,
espec i ely, i y- h ee ( e sus a o al o 73) and eigh y ( e sus a o al o 86). When
compa ing he ou come, we can see ha he pe cen age o s uden s passed (A, B, C
ank) ha e isen sligh ly in bo h he quizzes and he inal g ades. Gi en ha he WQ a e
conduc ed ou side he class oom and he s uden s ha e all he aining ma e ial, he pass
a e o quizzes is highe han o he o e all subjec . These esul s, besides o he
ac o s, encou age and ewa d us o he ime de o ed o he sea ch o he ool ha
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