SKILIKET System in STEM Education: A case study on Citizen Science

Citizen science projects powered by the Internet of Things (loT) are transforming how volunteers collect and monitor socio-ecological data. In the context of STEM education at the university level, these initiatives have demonstrated their potential to foster students' critical thinking skills and awareness of scientific phenomena. However, existing initiatives often provide systems that are not easily adaptable to diverse educational contexts. To address this gap, a new IoT-based citizen science system was designed and underwent user experience (UX) testing with students at a university campus in Mexico. This study employed a case study methodology to analyze the system's alignment with seven STEM education principles. Key findings include: a) The need for design improvements (Principle 6), such as extended onboarding and iterative refinements, to enhance user comprehension and engagement; b) Evidence of improved decision-making and diagnostic accuracy (Principle 5) when intuitive visual data representations were provided, although occasional technical issues disrupted seamless analysis; and c) The positive impact of collaboration and data integration processes (Principles 3 and 4), which fostered teamwork, deeper engagement, and reflective learning through immersive narratives. These findings provide researchers and practitioners with recommendations for optimizing user-centered educational systems, improving future iterations of citizen science initiatives, and integrating STEM education principles more effectively in higher education.