Experiential Learning for High School Students Using a Solar Powered Artifact: Engineering Outreach

The drive to develop an interest in engineering in high school learners is critical to society. We identified the need for a memorable educational artifact to initiate and sustain an interest in electrical engineering. Our developed artifact is aimed at increasing the educational impact of outreach...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2021 IEEE International Humanitarian Technology Conference (IHTC) pp. 1 - 8
Main Authors Goodall, Kai, Oyedokun, D. T. O., Chisepo, Hilary, Jankee, Pitambar
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 02.12.2021
Subjects
Automobiles
Autonomous
Digital signal processing
Education
Electrical engineering
Engineering education
Engineering outreach
Mechatronics design
Philosophical considerations
Pre-university
Renewable Energy
Renewable energy sources
Robotics education
Solar car
Technical requirements
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Summary:The drive to develop an interest in engineering in high school learners is critical to society. We identified the need for a memorable educational artifact to initiate and sustain an interest in electrical engineering. Our developed artifact is aimed at increasing the educational impact of outreach initiatives to encourage high school learners to study engineering. As a result, learners are exposed to interactive technologies and fundamentals of electrical engineering at a pre-university level. In this paper, we present an active and interactive educational autonomous/remote controlled solar car. The design is based on the 'sense, think and act' philosophy. The device incorporates digital signal processing, control, power, communication, and robotics. The first field test in the form of an educational outreach demonstrated that learners engaged positively with the car and had a keen interest in electrical engineering applications. The implications of this study are that the solar car proved to be an effective educational outreach tool for engineering, and that it met the project's technical requirements.
DOI:10.1109/IHTC53077.2021.9698902