Application of Remote Experiments in Basic Education through Mobile Devices J.P.C. de Lima 1 , W. Rochadel 1 , J.P.S. Simão 1 , A.M. Silva 1 , J.B. da Silva 1 , J.B.M. Alves 1 1 Federal University of Santa Catarina, Araranguá, Brazil Abstract— The purpose of this paper is to present the aspects related to the experiences of developing and deploying an software application aimed to use remote experimentation for mobile devices and the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) as tools to support teaching and learning. Currently the technological resources have been misused in education, and the potential use of mobile devices in education virtually untapped. The architecture implemented enables the users to control real experiments and to monitor results via video streaming, which provides a sense of immersion similar to hands-on laboratories. The authors state the deployment of this mobile learning tool in a second year Brazilian public high school. The mobile application uses HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery Mobile in order to maintain compatibility among the platforms widely used. The VLE Moodle has been used in order to provide homework assignments, assessments and teaching material. The experiments had been automated using open hardware and software sources, which facilitate replication for different areas. Keywords —Mobile Learning; Physics Education; Remote Experimentation; Secondary School. I. INTRODUCTION The decrease numbers of Brazilian engineers have concerned not only the government, but also some of the important sectors of Brazilian enterprises. The main concerns is the lack of work experience in graduated students, the poor quality of basic education in public schools and the growing need of professionals from the engineering and technology areas [1]. Brazil is in a strongly economic progress; however its technological industry is growing without enough professionals in this area what imply in a loss of development. The current strategy has been to attract the students to this field by supporting projects to stimulate the training, the vocational interest, appreciation and modernization in their areas of knowledge. It is very common for students all over the world to see the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as uninteresting, some countries of the European Union and the United States of America are considering another approach to the STEM fields [2], aiming to reformulate the effectiveness and quality of their educational system. The Remote Experimentation (RE) is a technology that allows the user to control a real experiment from a remote source, observing the results via video streaming. When describing this technique Silva [3] says that "the elements are real, the access is virtual and the experiences are real". Unlike simulation and virtual laboratories, a remote laboratory uses a real experiment which approximates the results obtained by the hands-on laboratories because they have the same uncertainty of variables. To make secondary students more interested in the STEM subjects is relevant the educators be engaged with technological competence, updated teaching materials, and it has to include researches and industry applications, interactive e-learning contents and remote laboratories to expand the skills and cognition. In the classroom, the use of investigation turns the students into participant of the construction and reconstruction of knowledge. The effort demanded in the utilization of concepts, methodology and practices approach them to scientific methodology linking this process to the current scientific and technological development. Nevertheless, the structure of a laboratory and its maintenance prove costly, being the reason of the its lack in the schools and universities [4]. Clearly, the formal teaching and learning are no longer directly linked to activities inside the classroom [3] and increasingly becomes more necessary to explore new teaching practices. The technology has, in this sense, primary function of mediating and facilitating the approach of the student to the disciplines. Moreover, it is perceived the great significance that the mobile devices have in people’s life, in special to the young people, by using of advantages that ubiquity has to offer. The use of the devices is relevant in several contexts in the life of young people, Naismith, et al. [5] says that "it does not make sense that in an educational system with limited technological resources one should not try the get the utmost advantage from what the young bring to classes". As well know the teaching mobile environments and learning can closer the school to their everyday [6]. II. REMOTE EXPERIMENTATION AND MOBILE LEARNING The m-learning concepts can be further explored by combining the goals of RE with the mobility features. Thus, the use of remote laboratories in mobile devices can be a good alternative to attract students' attention to complementary lectures on subjects that many of them have difficulty or that they think is a monotonous lecture [7].