Effectiveness of using Arduino platform for the

hybrid engineering education learning model

Anees Bashir*, Mariam Alhammadi, Moath Awawdeh and Tarig Faisal
Faculty of Engineering, Madinat Zayed and Ruwais-Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE,
* [email protected]

Abstract— There has been an increased focus in the recent students depend on the engagement and involvement of the
days, on improving the quality of imparted knowledge to students [1]. This is the reason where a design thinking
students by involving in project based learning model which course has been introduced for the students in the first year
combines the theoretical and practical aspect of subjects in (HCT as case study) to allow them to experience a hands on
engineering education. In order to refocus on the traditional learning process and the students would be able to
methods of teaching and grow towards a more proactive method understand the concept of engineering principles easily. This
of learning, project based approaches are being considered for would help to expose the students to the fundamentals of
most of the courses in engineering fields. Students expertise and analyzing a problem, creative thinking, problem solving and
knowledge on the tools that require to design such projects are
team work. In course of the subject they would be exposed
one of the challenges that faced this method. The main aim of
this paper is to study the effectiveness and easiness of the usage
to various tasks that would offer a ground for a rich learning
of Arduino platform in project based learning based on the experience. The students also get familiarized with basic
student’s experiences and perspective in designing and levels of simulation and programming as a result of this. In
developing undergraduate students design projects. This study Kolb’s learning model, learning has been defined as process
has been realized by the means of conducting a paper based through which knowledge is obtained by experience
survey and student performance report in particular courses. transformation which is in line with the concept of project-
The respondents of the survey are the students of the electrical based learning [2]. There were many studies conducted to
engineering department in HCT Ruwais campus. The study show the concept of utilizing a physical computing paradigm
conducted focused on the respondents’ utilization of the in [3], where the concepts are brought into the real world
Arduino platform and the outcomes. Results could be used to from the screen to interact with the students. One of the tools
facilitate the use of Arduino platform for different levels of that have been used by the students to develop their project
students in the light of project based learning model. The study across different engineering disciplines (electrical,
also focusses on whether the students’ interaction with Arduino mechanical, mechatronics) is Arduino learning environment.
has increased their participation in various co-curricular This research aims to study the effectiveness and easiness of
activities hence contributing to the students holistic the usage of Arduino board in project based learning from
development. the student’s perspective and experiences in designing and
developing undergraduate project and graduating design
Keywords— Project Based Learning, Hybrid Learning,
project (at final year).
Engineering Education, Arduino, Microcontroller System
A. Open Source Hardware
I. INTRODUCTION Arduino is based on an open source platform where the
The student centered approach towards education hardware design is made available publicly, by the means of
focusses on the core value of Project Based Learning (PBL) which the design can be made, edited, studied, distributed or
which improves the meta cognitive skills that would help the sold [4]. Any modifications could be made on the hardware
students in embarking on a life long journey towards in the pattern as preferred. In order to make the maximum
learning. The process of integrating the skills and the utilization of the software, there are materials & components
knowledge of the students with the expertise of their that readily available which are also open source, they have
teachers, results in obtaining a wonderful end product in content which is unrestricted, which helps it to design better
terms of the project based learning technique which ensures and they have an infrastructure which is also open. This
a never ending learning process. This would help the students
would increase the utilization of the hardware to the
to be able to embark on the life long process of learning, by
maximum as the users can control their designs and
finding solutions to real time problems. This would
encourage the students to actively get involved in the design experiment with the technology and share their resources and
and modeling of projects through software based simulation knowledge. This is one of the key reasons for the popularity
and real time hardware designing. It also improves the of the platform as it is easy to access the resources and
coding knowledge of the students. Most of the students technology and the ideas and available materials are free.
execute their projects on the Arduino platform, which is open Hence it is being modeled, developed and applied every day.
source and it helps to reiterate till the real efficient solution It can be applied to a wide variety of platforms and create
is reached for the complex open ended problems. In order to various projects that were not being realized in the past
produce a greater percentage of motivation among the because of limitations in money, ideas or design. Moreover,
students and to have high rates of retention among students Arduino can both help developers and tinkers alike. Here
in the engineering education program, from the first year of customization of the design and product is possible based on
their study, it is required to engage the students in various some standards. With the onset of the Do It Yourself (DIY)
creative and applied concepts of engineering, that would culture, many makers are influenced by the principle of
create an interest for the students in the field of engineering. making things and engaging in projects rather than only
The retention and motivation among the freshman year resorting to only being a customer. They believe in the
concept of making is better than buying .
This work is supported by Higher College of Technology (HCT)

978-1-5386-4844-5/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

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 B. Hybrid Study Model measurement data like temperature sensors, gas sensors, light
sensors, and sound sensors. These measurements that are
Hybrid learning model is an amalgamation of face to face obtained from the sensors need to be converted by some
traditional theory classes and online modes of learning which physical devices called actuators like motors or valves, that
includes technology bound learning and multimedia would perform certain functionality in the real world. There
contents. Thereby it reduces the in-seat time of the students are a wide variety of devices that can be connected with an
by making them getting involved in practical lessons at a Arduino like displays, oscilloscopes, ph meters, Geiger
considerable proportion. Various researches conducted in the counter, etc. Arduino could be connected to various objects to
Stanford University and the University of Tennessee [5], activate them, it could add a new dimension to its functionality
have indicated that hybrid teaching models have improved and application. It can be used in constructing and build a wide
the quality of teaching and learning. Students would
variety of circuits. The foundation to which lies in the
incorporate the qualities of critical thinking, time
innovative nature of this technology [9]. This can help making
management, application of concepts and technology usage
by engaging in hybrid model of learning. The success rate in the passive objects, that are of a non-interactive nature interact
this model is proved to be very effective and it creates a sense with the surroundings which would equip a better
of autonomy in education that would help students to learn functionality of the object and would be constantly renovated
better. Therefore, the process of learning becomes a in terms of applications and implementations as new features
collaborative process. Hence they try to apply concepts and are upgraded. One of the most predominant features of
knowledge and answer questions, unlike the traditional building circuits using Arduino is the flexibility that it allows
method. This also facilities easy monitoring of student’s in terms of prototype building [10]. Prototype refers to the
involvement and progress in the course by the instructors. initial phase of the project building where the basic circuit is
Usually, engineering courses are thought to be rigid, dense, constructed and subjected to various tests and debugging
definitive and technical whereas the business school courses stages in both hardware and software phases. The hardware
are thought to be more of real world cases which help in phase includes the circuit connection between the
building teamwork and problem solving skills, which microcontroller, sensors and actuators, and the software phase
focusses more on the thought process than solving for the includes programming the microcontroller, in order to be able
final answer. By incorporating the engineering courses, with to accept the inputs and deliver the necessary outputs to
the above mentioned elements of business schools, while perform the function as necessary. Sketches are the term that
retaining the key core essence of the engineering subjects, is used for programs in Arduino [12]. This could be used in a
would help in building the research focus and team building wide variety of settings like the baud rate could be adjusted
spirit of the students. This would be possible by engaging the
through the Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
students in more project works, assignments, case studies,
shown in Fig. 2(b), and other specifications can be altered. In
and lab sessions apart from the traditional lectures [6].
Arduino, other remarkable features are the use of libraries.
II. ARDUINO – KEY FEATURES OF THE Libraries are used to facilitate the easy connection with a
PLATFORM different number of modules like displays, sensors and
communication modules. Libraries are nothing but a
Arduino board shown in Fig. 1, is an open source, collection of codes some of which are inbuilt in and some of
compatible and cheap programming platform that is built by which can be installed from the internet, and they are also
an ATMEL AVR microcontroller chip which is available in available as open source
various versions starting from Nano, Uno and mega to name a
few. Its compatibility with multiple sensors, the low cost, ease
of operation, and its small size allow it to be used as a very
important and potential tool for both teaching and designing
projects. It can be used to teach various important concepts
starting from programming, control mechanisms, and
operation of sensors. Moreover, there is a wide range of
community of users and developers for this platform as it is
easy to use and program and it produces robust outcomes. It
uses a modern architecture in its microcontroller board and
can also be used to support a wide variety of sensors like (a) (b)
environmental sensors, chemical sensors, light sensors, etc.
Openness and adaptability are the main features that Fig. 1. Arduino platform (a) Arduino board, (b) Integrated Development
contribute to the success of the Arduino platform [7][8]. The Environment IDE, [11].
exciting features of Arduino are the simplicity of technology
being used, accessibility to various sensors and actuators, and III. METHODOLOGY
constant improvement by updating its software. Adaptability The study was conducted among the students of
refers to the capability of being able to adjust and merge with electrical engineering department enrolled at the Higher
various platforms according to the needs of the situation that College of Technology- Ruwais Campus. The individual
arises. It is compatible with a wide variety of sensors and responses of the students across all the years were collected,
actuators and it gives rise to unlimited combinations and studied, and processed to obtain the inferences. There were 3
possibilities with different elements that would help us in steps involved in the study and those include: gathering of
achieving results specific to our needs. Arduino can be data, Sampling of data gathered, and observations of the
connected to a wide variety of sensors for collecting participants.

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 A. Gathering of Data being taught based on the same board. The students are
also exposed to some course projects based on the same
The data was gathered from the respondents in the form of a in at least one level of their study. Moreover, many
paper based survey, in which questions were designed in senior design projects have been implemented using
order to understand the students level of expertise and Arduino in the last few semesters.
understanding of the Arduino platform. There were questions
designed for both the beginner level and intermediate level of IV. RESULT
users. The questions were designed in such a manner to The students who were involved in the survey had been
explore the effectiveness of the relationship the students had chosen from the second year, third year and final year. A total
in studying and working with the Arduino platform (see of 25 students had participated in the study. Where, 20% of
Appendix). The level of satisfaction among the students about the participants from the Second year, 52% from the Third
working on this platform and the effectiveness of Arduino in year, and 28% from the final year. Fig 2 presents the response
helping them study in the hybrid learning model. The other of the students to group B.2 questions. The questions asked
questions focused on the projects and courses that they had in the survey began testing the familiarity of the students with
taken in coherence to Arduino and the projects that have been the Arduino platform, out of which 84% of the respondents
completed successfully using the same platform. The seemed to have basic knowledge about the Arduino platform
student’s attitude towards Arduino was measured using a 5 although just 68% of students have officially studied about
value scale similar to likert scale. Arduino in the courses that they have undertaken in the
college.
B. Sampling of data gathered

The questions were selected carefully in order to let the

students contemplate, articulate and elaborate on their Won a competition using Arduino 36% 64%
previous and current experiences that they have encountered
with the Arduino platform in regards to their course study and Worked on projects based on
Arduino 16% 84%
projects. The authors have been very observant and keen in
working, designing and developing projects on the same Studied Arduino as a part of their
32% 68%
course
embedded platform that has helped them to understand this
study better. Direct observations of the respondents have Familiarity with Arduino 16% 84%
been recorded during various laboratory sessions and project
execution sessions which include all the phases starting from
the planning, designing, working and execution phase. Some Yes No
of the respondents were advised to exhibit their projects in
nationwide competitions. Therefore, understanding of
respondents has been considered to avoid any misinformation Fig. 2. Response to group B.2 questions
or inaccuracies in the responses that are obtained from the
respondents. Hence observation, is a fundamental in ensuring Fig. 3, shows the feedback received from the respondents
that the responses are accurate in order to produce a strong regarding their course outputs based on Arduino and awards
study. received in the process. The students have won competitions
based on Arduino for various inter college competitions and
To accomplish the proposed study, some of the details that national wide competitions also.
have been considered are given below:
Table I, demonstrates some of the national level competitions
1. One of the most commonly available microcontroller in which the respondents have presented their projects. In all
boards was chosen as the core of the study. It is easily the events, they have presented a project that has been
available and affordable and it also has a wide variety of developed using the Arduino Platform. This result is a true
applications. indicator to measure the high level of effectiveness of using
2. The Arduino board could be used across the various Arduino platform among engineering students.
levels of study from the beginners to the graduating
students, the only difference being in the application and
the outcome produced.
3. Programming of the Arduino board is also relatively
simple and there are sketches available as example for all
the basic functionalities embedded as a part of the IDE.
4. A very little or basic knowledge of electric circuits is
required to start building the circuits to communicate
with Arduino’s digital and analog ports. This is the
reason the first year students were exempted from the
study.
5. The main reason for choosing Arduino boards in the
study was the reason that many courses like design
thinking, microcontroller system, embedded systems are Fig. 3. Arduino-based project for course’s output and awarding

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 Fig 4. Cause and Effect Analysis of the skills acquired during the course of years to enable the electrical engineering student to complete the SDP

The survey also reveals 8% of the students have built and microcontroller systems that would help them improve their
designed more than 15 projects with the Arduino board, circuit designing and detailing skills. It would expose them to
whereas about 8% of the students have designed about 10 to breaking the projects into modules and integrate the hardware
15 projects based on the same platform. This serves a and software and build a mini design project as a result. In
tremendous potential to increase the system of hybrid model semester 7, students are required to take robotics technology
of learning for the courses that could use the features of and embedded system design course, where they are exposed
imbibing modern methods of delivering concepts in ways to high level languages, multilevel testing, design and
apart from the traditional lecturing. measurement. They are exposed to integrating hardware and
software and design sheets, by the means of which the seeds
Another focus of the study was on the programming and the of applied research are sown. With all these acquired skills
circuit building skills of the students, on the basis of working the students are eligible to undertake their final research
with Arduino which is shown in Fig. 5. 4% of the participants project which would be a product outcome of the skills and
were very confident with writing sketches and programming competencies that they have acquired over the period of time.
the Arduino boards and connecting their peripherals and
sensors whereas, 36% of the students seemed to be very TABLE I. WINNING ARDUINO DEVELOPED PROJECT BY RESPONDNTS
confident about the circuit building skills. About 12% were Project developed Awarding/ Presenting
unconfident about the programming skills whereas 16% were Embedded VAC System UAE Think Science Fair 2018, 1st place
unconfident about their hardware circuit building skills.
Although about 60% of students have a reasonable Intelligent Evacuation International Security and Risk
System Prevention Exhibition
understanding of the programming skills of Arduino and 40% Intelligent Radiation International Defense Exhibition &
of the students are somewhat familiar with the hardware Detector Conference
skills. Henceforth, there seems to be a rise in the motivation Touch Free Measurement University senior design project
among students to learn programming and circuit building by System : Human Body Competition, 2nd place.
Camel Auto-barrier System Governmental competition
involving in multiple project building and lab sessions. (Himmatcom) – solution provided.
The survey also reported that 56% of the students were
introduced to the Arduino platform primarily by their
teachers and about 28% of the students were interested in this
development boards with the help from their friends and
PROG RMMI N G A ND CI RCU I T
peers. B UI LDIN G S K I LLS
As shown in Fig 4, semester1exposes the students to design
thinking in technology course, where they are expected to Programming skills Circuit Building skills
design a mini project. During this course the students are
60%

exposed to the various skills like the basics of design,

development and investigation which would rise their levels
40%
36%

of creativity. In semester 4, the instrumentation and control

24%

16%
12%

course requires the students to performs labs and mini project.

8%
4%

This course would expose them to calibration, measurement,

selection and application where they can perform and present
mini project using Arduino. In the same semester the students VERY SOMEWHAT NOT SO NOT AT ALL
are required to complete a design project that would test their FAMILIAR FAMILIAR FAMILIAR FAMILIAR
knowledge details, technique applications and component
testing and detailing. In Semester 6, students learn Fig. 5. Programming & Circuit Building skills based on the survey results

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 TABLE II. ARDUINO EDUCATION SOLUTIONS FOR THE CLASSROOM
Level Solution Board(s) Include Subject Covered Soft Skills For
Fundamental of Programming and Critical thinking, Classroom use
Starter Kit Arduino Uno (X6) electronics, introduction to sensor collaborative
classroom pack and actuators, understanding digital learning, and
and analog signal problem solving
Fundamental Engineering concept, Critical thinking and Individual or classroom
University key aspect of mechatronics, Matlab problem solving use
Engineering Kit Arduino MKR1000 and Simulink programming, physical
engineering skills.
Getting started with IoT. Big data, Critical thinking and Individual use
MKR IoT Bundle Arduino MKR 1000 networking, connected app problem solving
development.

students grasp the hybrid learning model with more

TABLE III. ARDUINO LEARNING PATH AND SOLUTIONS motivation.

Arduino Solution/ Learning Supported Estimated VI. RECOMMENDATIONS

Education Path Technology Price/ Plans
For age group (19 (AED)a
In order to develop a classroom effective solution to improve
– 22 Y and 23 – 26 the usage of Arduino, there are some suggestion that could be
Y) implemented especially if Arduino platform can be integrated
Solution for Arduino MKR1000 1100.00 to the curricular courses (Mapping is shown in Fig. 4), there
the class Engineering Kit with
room MATLAB
will be definite improvement in the Hardware-Software skills
and Simulink of the students as they will understand H/S interfacing from
Kits and Arduino - 1100.00 the beginning of their study. Table II, shows Arduino
Bundles Engineering Kit MKR1000 for 250.00 educational solutions (see [11]) for the class rooms at the
Arduino MKR IoT IoT university level considering three group of soft skills (critical
Bundle applications
Entry Level Arduino Core Arduino N/A thinking, collaborative learning, and problem solving). The
board boards Software solutions provided can be mapped for each particular course.
(IDE) As per our case study, semester 3 students can be exposed to
Mid/ Arduino MKR MKR shield Different 19 a basic starter kit for their project activities. Whereas the
Advanced Family shields
IoT Level engineering kit comprising of Arduino MKR1000 can be
board used by students in Semester 4,5,6 and 7. The MKR IoT
Certification Arduino Processors not - ARTIK Bundle pack can be students by the students of semester 6,7,
Program Certification currently 5&10 DK and 8. All the 3 packs can be used by the students for their
Program supported by - Intel Galileo
Arduino Gen 2
design projects after fulfilling the map of Fig. 4. Table III
- Intel Edison provides a list of some Arduino learning paths and solutions
Online Arduino Create Online plans start at where the education support of Arduino extends from basic
Services platform 0.73/student classroom packs to complex IoT boards. The estimated price
per month
plans for Arduino learning paths are affordable. Moreover,
a.
Subject to manufacturer prices the students can be exposed to a wide range of functionality
V. CONCLUSION & DISCUSSION with various sensor and shields that can expose them to
various applications that can be potentially used by them in
This study demonstrated the more than half of the various meaningful projects. Based on the success achieved
students were very satisfied with the effective usage of the by the students and as per the provided results, it is
Arduino board in helping them to improve their overall recommended to implement various phases of learning
knowledge of circuits and programming. The interest of the starting from year 1 to the graduation level, considering a
students towards the course, have seen to be increasing when robust learning map of Arduino solutions. This would greatly
the students are involved in hands on activities like labs, improve the level of involvement of the students towards the
projects and assignments. This interest can be kindled when courses and help them retain their interest in the subject. In
the students are involved in group activities. Arduino based order to impart greater flexibility some of the Arduino based
projects are an excellent way to implement the above course work can be self-paced also. In this paper, the
mentioned. Furthermore, a considerable percentage of the effectiveness of the Arduino platform was studied across the
students realized the benefit of using Arduino in helping them engineering education model, based on the results, students
grow across the various platforms and helps them develop showed interests in Arduino platform and their projects
their skills as engineers. Accordingly, Arduino platform can outcomes have been recognized and awarded.
be a useful tool for hybrid learning model as it can be used
for different level of students without expert knowledge. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Furthermore, if we could continue the usage of Arduino The authors would like to thank the reviewers and
across various subjects and introduce the usage of other collaborators for their valuable comments and suggestions to
development boards to avoid monotony, this is help our improve the quality of the paper.

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 APPENDIX  What are the problems you have encountered with
Sample: 25 students – Electronic engineering department at Arduino?
Higher College of Technology.  Have you heard about any other platforms similar
Level: Year 2, 3 and final year students Arduino?

Survey: Paper based, 21 MCQ

Content Course
Questions Development Development
Dependent (Initiating)
Have you heard about Arduino?
Group A Group B.1
Arduino Arduino skills
mapping to (Initiate to
Group A course (Impact) Acknowledge)
 What are the courses you have studied (or would be
studying) with practical knowledge based on Arduino?
 Which course you have mostly used Arduino for final Group B.2 Group C
project? Arduino skills Arduino
(Rate to platfrom and
Outcomes) experience
Group B.1
 How familiar are you in dealing with Arduino?
Curriculum Resources
 Have you studied Arduino as a part of your courses in the Development Development
College?
 Have you worked on projects based on Arduino? Fig. 6. Questions design network and development map (Appendix)

 Have you won a competition for a project based on REFERENCES

Arduino?
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