A comparative study of online and face-to-face embedded systems learning course.

Embedded Systems are integrated into our daily life in many ways. Embedded systems education requires at least two major components: (1) a teacher with expertise in both hardware and software; (2) a hands-on experimental environment. Recent developments in educational tool kits for learning embedded systems, such as Ardu-EZ, increase the feasibility of teaching embedded systems online; but conclusive evidence about the efficiency of teaching embedded systems online is still very rare. This paper presents a comparative study of face-to-face and online delivery modes of an embedded systems course with a focus on students' learning experience. During our experiment, an embedded systems course was taught in both face-to-face and online modes with identical content. The results show that online learning mode can be a viable alternative to the traditional face-to-face course for embedded systems education if required components such as student-teacher interaction, sufficient independent learning skills for the students, well-designed teaching materials, and tangible support are provided.