Abstract:

In engineering it is permanent the test and application of new resources for the learning of complex calculus subjects and their applications to real phenomena [1]. This is due to the great importance of topics such as integration in space, vector fields, parameterizations, etc. Mathematics and physics are the oldest and most fundamental disciplines for understanding natural phenomena and real-life processe and are the basis of the engineering student's cognitive structure. The main characteristic of these topics is the difficulty of visual presentation; this obstacle is crucial because students, in the current technological context, have birth and grown acquiring knowledge through an extraordinary stream of digital exposure, in a learning process with ubiquitous characteristics [2] [3]. The use of computer technologies as a support for the teaching of these subjects provides a medium for graphic representation, that allows the dynamic interaction, being this a familiar environment for the so-called "digital learners" [4]. It emphasizes the use of specialized software products which leads to the need to find points of union between basic disciplines and advanced computing [5]. In the framework of an investigation carried out in the Department of Basic Sciences of the National Technological University Rosario Regional Faculty, workshops were given with dynamic simulations to students of the Mechanical Engineering career. The results showed that to gain an understanding of new concepts, students need to consolidate calculus knowledge learned at previous levels of the career. Based on these results, a new extracurricular course project is proposed, coordinated in the Chair of Informatic where computational didactic resources are created that generate a guiding thread for the assimilation of concepts through interactive and correlated simulations. In these classes, students will be able to observe and participate, with simulations that have omnipresent the origin and development of each concept, its relation with the following concepts, and the conclusions in each step towards the construction of a specific theme. These simulations are created through the programming and use of commands in software of symbolic calculation, where the students participate actively in all the sections of development of the subject. Through this form of work students applying resolution of problems through the perception of the structure, and effectively strengthen their computing abilities, become familiar with the use of tools for problem solving and algorithm coding [6].

References:
[1] Feurzeig, W.Modeling and Simulation in Science and Mathematics Education- Springer-Verlag, Neew York Inc. Google e-books (1999)
[2] Rushby N.The Future of Learning Technology: Some Tentative Predictions, Editor, British Journal of Educational Technology and Society, April. V. 16 No 2 pp 56-58. (2013)
[3] Vázquez-Cano E. Dispositivos digitales móviles en Educación: El aprendizaje ubicuo , Narcea Ediciones, 7 may. (2015)
[4] Mercè G. et al.Digital Leaners la competencia digital de los estudiantes universitarios La Cuestión Universitaria, 7. pp. 48-59 (2011)
[5] Caligaris, M. et al.Herramientas que sitúan la matemática en contexto. Artículos de las II Jornadas de Enseñanza de la Ingeniería II JEIN UTN FRSN, San Nicolás 2012. Año 2. Vol 2. P 60-65 (2012)
[6] De Federico S. et al.Design and Simulation of Complex Surfaces by New Teaching Methodologies, 8th InTED Conference, Valencia, España (2014)

Keywords:

Correlated interactive simulations, ubiquitous learning, digital learners, integral calculus, mathematical algorithms.