VIRTUAL LABS IN NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

Nowadays, it is impossible to think about learning Numerical Analysis without implementing its methods in a computer so as to obtain and analyze results. Programming these methods may turn the study of this subject a bit complicated if students do not have the necessary skills to do so. Here is where virtual laboratories become important, as they enable users to perform the methods without writing and seeing code.

Besides, the possibility that some programmes offer to obtain and plot analytical solutions can be exploited so as approximate and exact solutions can be compared.

That’s why, the Engineering & Education Group, (GIE, Grupo Ingeniería & Educación in Spanish) from the Facultad Regional San Nicolás, Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (FRSN) has developed several tools to facilitate the learning of certain concepts that are often difficult to acquire or require tedious processes. To create these tools, not only the needs and difficulties detected in the learning were taken into account, but also the students’ learning styles. Different software have been used for the development of these resources. These toolkit is considered the Virtual Laboratory for Numerical Analysis.

In this work, the apps that have been designed and are used in different Numerical Analysis courses at FRSN are presented. Also, some activities that are proposed to students involving their use are shown.