Introduction
‘’Most of what we know about how the world works was discovered, not by sitting on a chair and thinking hard, but by getting hands-on: pulling things apart, putting them back together, testing out ideas’’[1, p.ii], said Dr. Alice Roberts. Nowadays, most companies demand a basic knowledge of STEM education to have a job [2], not only this but also many students enter University with lack of common basic skills and knowledge to use in engineering education [3]. So the reason is that nowadays, most of the teachers are using electronic devices to teach engineering education; thus, hands-on methods of education have been forgotten. In the middle ages, hands-on was the primary form of learning different kinds of crafts, in the 19th -20th century it moved to vocation training systems, people learned skills through participating and guidance, sharing and practice [4]. Through different methods of learning, discovery, inquiry, and guided discovery, learning all depend on guidance. Digital learning has been a critical method of learning in the 21st century [4].
As mentioned, this paper shall focus on two types of learning methods, the first learning method is hands-on, which entails involving one’s hands to do the work, and the second learning method is digital learning, which means involving electronic devices to help students and teachers to do the work. Also, STEM education stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which are the most important subjects that must be taught in higher education. This paper will focus on why hands-on learning is better than digital learning and why engineering education should be taught using hands-on methods, not using electronic methods.
Hands-on learning is better than digital learning
Hands-on learning will contribute to the developing of different kinds of skills for students who study different majors especially for engineering students because it based on active learning and not just listening, for example, the students learn how to create and complete a circuit, drawing pictures, keep records of experiments; these practices can only be achieved through participation, and actively getting involved for them to understand [3]. Also, it can help the student to think at a different and higher level when they use their hands by asking themselves some questions; for instance, how can I enhance this object? Furthermore, what are the benefits of this object? [3], According to Gibbins, Perkin, and Sander, “An ability to think critically is of paramount importance to scientists and engineers, whose work typically involves problem-analysis, evaluation of possible courses of action and decision-making” [5, p.8300]. Moreover, besides critical thinking, students need to develop their time because they must attend the engineering classes to do the work on the machines, which is hard to do out the campus. To conclude, it is essential to improve the abilities of the student, while it is also important to enhance student confidence to face the real world.
Moreover, hands-on learning will boost the confidence of students to face the real world by applying what they have learned in class. The importance of this merit led the US to launch a program called EbD (engineering by doing), which is a way to attract students using digital learning by using hands-on-learning to show them the importance of involving your hands in the work to solve engineering problems [6]. One significant benefit of EbD program that J.S. Rolston and E. Cox states “it provides students with an opportunity to learn with their bodies and engage a variety of senses – seeing, touching, hearing, smelling and “doing” – to understand engineering problems as they exist in the real world,”[6, p.275] This will give the students a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction because they can apply their skills in the working environment [3]. To sum up, enhancing the confidence of students is important. Besides, the interaction between students and instructors is also meaningful.
Furthermore, hands-on learning promotes interaction between an instructor and his students and also fosters the communication of ideas between students and other students in a classroom setting. Basically, using the hands-on program involves an interaction between the instructor and the students, and here, the instructor encourages the students to act or do something practically, and that helps in sponsoring their understanding capabilities [7]. In short, hands-on learning means learning something by experiencing it. Thus, it makes sense to conclude that hands-on learning encourages interactions in a classroom, which is beneficial to the learning capabilities of students since they can discuss the different ideas they have, and that boosts their knowledge as a result [7]. Nowadays, most of students who study engineering majors in the university and collages must took an engineering communication course which basically is important for their future when they become an engineer [8]. According to the researchers in Arkansas State University” Work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Engineers have to communicate on a daily basis — with each other, with supervisors, with people in different departments, and even with clients.” [8, p.-]. All in all, the communication in the classroom is very important. However, there are also some supporting points about digital learning,
On the other hand, some students may find digital learning more useful. One key advantage of digital learning is flexibility, which means it can be used anytime and anywhere. So, this benefit will not only help the student to use the digital devices out the campus, but it also helps the students with special needs because they often struggle to use their hands to do the experiments [9]. Also, using a digital device to do the experiments is safer. However, Scheckler states that “while digital tools have value, they should not replace all of the traditional laboratory activities” [10, p.231] as they pose a set of challenges. For example, some students will face problems when they use the platform because most of the platforms need a secure network connection [10] to facilitate their online experiments at home. Sometimes the platform will get stuck if the number of users exceeds the server limit [10] so the students will not be able to use the platform for studying or revising. Moreover, some students will handle the experiments or the projects to their parents to continue the work instead of themselves because there is no one controls them. Overall, the main problems with the flexibility of digital learning are the technical problems and no supervision on the students; however, there is also one benefit regard the digital learning that it is cheaper than hands-on learning.
When it is assessed from an economic perspective, the use of electronics in digital learning is more cost-efficient as opposed to hands-on-learning. While hands-on-learning requires extra costs, ranging from transportation expenses to classrooms to the salaries of teachers and lecturers, the use of electronics cuts on all these costs, all students need only a one-time purchase of an electronic gadget such as a computer and gain access to all material, assignments and also interact with fellow scholars at minimal costs as all teaching resources are incorporated on the platform [11]. According to X. Chen and X. Zhu “With the rapid development of information technology, e-Learning will become a major learning mode.” [9, p.396]. However, despite this advantage, we cannot depend on the electronic devices all of time. This is because, just like any other technological device, electronics are susceptible to wear and tear, breakdowns, crushing, and damage so this will lead to change the device or fix it, which cost money. Moreover, their reliance on electricity power gives them a risky option as students and it may be disadvantaged of the digital platform use in the case of a power outage [12]. Although the use of electronic devices provides a cheaper learning option, it is not wise to entirely rely on them.
Conclusion
Digital and hands-on learning are two conventional learning approaches that are practiced in different schools globally. The two methods have different impacts on the understanding of students, and some prefer one over the other. Hands-on learning has numerous advantages over digital learning, especially on engineering students considering that they can practically draw pictures, keep records about their experiments. All that can be only effectively attained by experimenting physically and getting the students involved. On the other hand, digital learning, also works for students, especially for those who consider costs before enrolling for a college. Digital learning is deemed to be flexible, which means that it can be used anywhere, and it is a significant benefit for the students, especially those with special needs. However, there are many challenges attached to digital learning, and one of them is that it needs a reliable internet connection for a student to effectively learn using a platform. Both the two methods of education have their advantages as well as disadvantages, but the most advantageous type of learning is a hands-on learning strategy. The hands-on learning approach gives students a practical approach to real-world situations. Further research has to be done in order to find ways to combine both hands-on learning and digital learning. These this because both approaches have proven to be effective in different fields of study.
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