ACES: an interactive software platform for self-instruction and self-evaluation in automatic control systems

This paper presents an interactive-, menu-driven prototype software platform, namely automatic control educational software (ACES), for self-instruction and self-evaluation in automatic control systems. ACES is used for enriching instruction in automatic control at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The ACES platform includes theory with hyperlinks, a concept-graph, and a database with exercises. Students' answers to exercises are evaluated automatically "on-line." Furthermore, exercises can be proposed automatically by ACES. An instructor/supervisor can support in person the learning effort of a student, monitor the progress of a student, and, also, tailor a course's contents on the modular ACES platform. Two statistical hypothesis tests on both attitude questionnaires and student marks in the final (written) exam confirmed that the employment of ACES in the educational process can improve the performance of students in an automatic control course although the attitude of students toward the course does not change significantly with the use of ACES.