Usefulness of remote experiments

Online experimentation available through web collaborative platforms is a valuable tool for students in science and engineering courses looking for skills to be part of the driving force behind Industry 4.0. However, the user's virtual presence on this type of tools demands that their educational value be carefully assessed. This work presents a case study in which students of a Mechanical Engineering program evaluated Remote Experimentation resources. For this purpose, a questionnaire to measure latent variables such as Interest and Perceived Importance was used. The results were analyzed using multiple regression models and causal effects of some motivational factors on others are hypothesized and tested. One of the conclusions that can be drawn is that the interest students have for Remote Experimentation and the importance they attribute to it depend on the interest they have for the contents of the course and on the importance they think the course has on their engineering training. Moreover, ease of use and help provided also play a significant role in the interest and perceived importance of Remote Experimentation.