Eureka! Institutional Repository

The main aim of this PhD thesis is to study the user interfaces involved in educational activities and investigate how these interfaces may affect knowledge acquisition. Specifically, interfaces can be tangible utilizing real components, or graphical employing simulators. Initial, a meta-analysis was conducted related to STEM activities to extract the effect size of intervention utilizing technological tools. The findings indicated that skills development benefits more than knowledge or attitudes. In addition to this, a meta-analysis was conducted on the teaching of electronic circuits to extract the effect size. The results indicate that the greatest benefits for students arise when activities combine tangible and graphical user interfaces. Also, participants in higher education seem to gain more significant benefits compared to students at lower levels, with a particular emphasis on enhanced knowledge acquisition over skills and attitudes. Furthermore, three educational interventions on the PIC18F4550 microcontroller were designed and took place with sample sizes of 32, 277 and 134 students respectively. The first intervention consisted of six advanced exercises, comparing tangible and graphical interfaces. The second involved eight exercises comparing tangible, graphical, and sequencing interfaces. The third focused on comparing a sequencing mixed interface approach. The findings suggest that when the difficulty level of the activities is increased, neither interface seems to be more beneficial. Students’ attitudes remained unaffected by the interface used, and finally, participants perceived the simulator’s usability to be higher when starting with a graphical interface and transitioning to a tangible interface Moreover, three educational interventions using Arduino Uno were conducted with sample sizes of 58, 110 and 61 students respectively. The first intervention aimed to investigate the impact of printed circuits boards, while the second compared these boards with both simulation and breadboard. The third intervention focused on exploring the acceptance of the technology through Arduino. The findings show that the use of printed circuit boards enhances the programming module, indicating that they can be regarded as a useful tool in teaching microcontrollers by enhancing the educational experience. Lastly, the perceived usability is closely linked to the behavioral intention to use Arduino or Micro:bit in the future. Finally, a proposed 15-question tool to assess Arduino basic coding knowledge was developed and validated.