Quest Journals Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering Research Volume 3 ~ Issue 8 (2017) pp: 01-05 ISSN(Online) : 2321-5941 www.questjournals.org *Corresponding Author: J. Genaro González-Hernández 1 1 | Page Department of Mechatronics, Technological University of Altamira, Mexico Research Paper Didactic Modules to Improve Academic Performance in Programmable Logic Control J. Genaro González-Hernández 1 , J. Luis Ocampo-Casados 2 , E. Uxmal Maya-Palacios 3 , J. César Martínez-Gámez 4 , J. Zamora-Santiago 5 , V. Trinidad-Puente 6 1,2,3,4 Department of Mechatronics, Technological University of Altamira, Mexico 5,6 Department of Basic Sciences and Electromechanics, Technological Institute of Cerro Azul, Mexico Received 16 Jan, 2017; Accepted 27 Jan, 2017 © The author(s) 2017. Published with open access at www.questjournals.org ABSTRACT: The development of practices is one of the pillars in professional realm, especially in technological areas. Unfortunately the equipment used in many Mexican schools often does not possess the adequate didactic characteristics that allow the student to obtain a better understanding of the phenomena that are wanted to study, or sometimes the material that is needed to perform some practice is constituted of several components and it is insufficient in the laboratories, in addition, a lot of time is frequently needed in the delivery of all the elements. The present paper presents a study where didactic modules for the teaching of Programmable Logic Control are implemented. Measurements of the academic performance of the students as well as the performance of the equipment are also presented. Control and experimental groups were established, both in order to research academic performance over a period of six months. At the end performance results characterized and based on the corresponding academic needs are compared and analyzed. Keywords: Academic Performance, Didactic Modules, Programmable Logic Control, Delivery Time I. INTRODUCTION Technology is fundamental in the development of society and it has been the basis of great progress in the modern era, it is has been for centuries the amount of theories and techniques which has allowed the practical development of scientific knowledge, and it can also be used for educational purposes to consolidate the training of students from basic to professional level [1]-[4]. In Mexico, the General Direction of High Technological Education recognizes the importance of the implementation of technology in education, as an agent for the economic development of a country, so it has used resources to provide the equipment and instruments to promote the acquisition of practical knowledge to the students of this system. One of the branches of technological application in schools is Programmable Logic Control, however, understanding their fundamentals is often a difficult task for many of the students in the first experiences they have with this discipline field [5][6]; this problem has several factors involved, some of them are related to the processes of logic and the teaching of Mathematics, this has been studied in part by organizations such as the Latin American Committee on Educational Mathematics [7] , where areas of interest such as propositional language and linear algebra have been detected [8]. There are also other technological factors, where the equipment and materials used do not exist in sufficient quantity or do not have the appropriate didactic characteristics to motivate student learning. All these factors promoted the development of this research. The general objective of this project was to design and implement didactic modules of Programmable Logic Control that allow students improve their academic performance, which is justified since the development and application of didactic modules in the schools have been very important for academic development of students in Mexico, including organizations such as the National Program for the Improvement of Teachers (PROMEP), which recognizes and motivates the teacher who wishes to obtain the recognition of the Desirable Profile, to generate didactic material of quality. The technological application teaching modules can be generated at all levels, and they have been built with the aim of correcting some lack of simplicity and versatility that is not found in sophisticated equipment, as well as to reduce costs and operating times. In the short term, advantages