Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Experiential Learning in Biomedical Engineering Education Using Wearable Devices: A Case Study in a Biomedical Signals and Systems Analysis Course

2022 , Montesinos, Luis , Santos-Diaz, Alejandro , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Cendejas-Zaragoza, Leopoldo

Biomedical engineering (BME) is one of the fastest-growing engineering fields worldwide. BME professionals are extensively employed in the health technology and healthcare industries. Hence, their education must prepare them to face the challenge of a rapidly evolving technological environment. Biomedical signals and systems analysis is essential to BME undergraduate education. Unfortunately, students often underestimate the importance of their courses as they do not perceive these courses’ practical applications in their future professional practice. In this study, we propose using blended learning spaces to develop new learning experiences in the context of a biomedical signals and systems analysis course to enhance students’ motivation and interest and the relevance of the materials learned. We created a learning experience based on wearable devices and cloud-based collaborative development environments such that the students turned daily-life scenarios into experiential learning spaces. Overall, our results suggest a positive impact on the students’ perceptions of their learning experience concerning relevance, motivation, and interest. Namely, the evidence shows a reduction in the variability of such perceptions. However, further research must confirm this potential impact. This confirmation is required given the monetary and time investment this pedagogical approach would require if it were to be implemented at a larger scale. ©MDPI, The authors.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Expanding the Concept of Learning Space in Biomedical Engineering Education using Wearable Devices and Cloud-based Collaborative Programming Environments

2023 , Montesinos, Luis , Santos-Diaz, Alejandro , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Cendejas-Zaragoza, Leopoldo

Biomedical engineering undergraduate students often underestimate the relevance of their courses as they hardly perceive their practical application in future professional development, resulting in a lack of interest, motivation, and engagement. This issue may be addressed by implementing practical or “hands-on” learning experiences that allow students to construct their knowledge and apply skills in real-world scenarios. This work proposes to create learning experiences supported by blended learning spaces, including traditional classrooms for direct instruction, daily-life scenarios for experiential learning enabled by wearable devices, and cloudbased programming environments for online collaborative work. The learning experience presented was implemented in a biomedical signals and systems course. Students used health wearables to record their physiological and behavioral signals in everyday scenarios and Google Collaboratory notebooks to analyze the collected data. The survey results applied to students suggest that technology-enabled blended learning spaces positively impact students’ perception of their learning experience. However, other potential benefits in learning derived from the use of technologies, such as increased student engagement and motivation and improved learning outcomes, require further investigation. This is particularly relevant given the monetary investment that scaling up this pedagogical approach would need. ©The authors, IEEE.