Perspectives on an Internet‐Based Synchronous Distance Learning Experience

This paper examines the distance learning process by providing an informed student's perspective as well as the instructor's perspective on an Internet‐based synchronous distance learning experience. Throughout the semester, the student maintained a class‐by‐class journal on his experiences and reactions to the Internet‐based course. This journal served as a crucial resource in the subsequent evaluation of the virtual classroom experience. The analysis provided in this paper, informed by current research on traditional and distance education, suggests that community, interaction, pedagogy, attention, and feedback play important roles in the success of an Internet‐based learning experience. Specific comments by the course instructor, as well as survey results from both students and other instructors for a number of synchronous Internet‐based courses, are also presented. This data further illuminates the student synchronous distance education experience and contributes additional insight into the delivery method and its ongoing evolution. The unique observations and conclusions provided here are useful for both instructors and students interested in participating in synchronous as well as asynchronous computermediated education.     

Student Perceptions of Internet-Based Learning Tools in Environmental Engineering Education

The Internet provides an excellent framework for learning, communication, information exchange, and collaboration in engineering education. This existing electronic infrastructure was integrated into an undergraduate environmental engineering course in atmospheric physics and chemistry to foster discussion of course topics, peer evaluation, and collaborative learning. Four major Internet-based learning tools were utilized to accomplish these objectives: 1) electronic copies of partial notes allowed students to remain engaged during class, 2) an electronic bulletin board enabled interactive discussion and peer evaluation of work, 3) multimedia assignments required students to retrieve information and direct their learning, 4) publicly accessible and peer-reviewed Internet-based term project reports provided motivation for quality and creative work. Student response to these new approaches was overwhelmingly positive, although preferences vary with learning style. While students assess many Internet-based learning approaches as useful, conventional educational approaches are still viewed as important components to successful learning.     

e‐Lab: An Electronic Classroom for Real‐Time Distance Delivery of a Laboratory Course

The Internet continues to demonstrate its versatility as a learning tool in the realm of higher education. As courses in everything from art history to engineering are offered on the Internet, we are experiencing a transition from traditional textbook and lecture teaching method to the virtual classroom. Yet, effective distance delivery of engineering laboratory courses remains a challenging problem. This paper introduces a new approach to deliver a senior‐level laboratory course at a distance in real‐time. The enabling technology is the combination of an interactive TV system and the Internet. The paper presents details of the laboratory setup and five sessions. Data collected for the past two years are analyzed statistically to assess student learning and achievement of learning objectives of each laboratory. Results of the analysis as well as surveys indicate that the e‐Lab created an effective learning environment.     

Dynamics of Peer Education in Cooperative Learning Workgroups

Many recent studies demonstrate that cooperative learning provides a variety of educational advantages over more traditional instructional models, both in general and specifically in engineering education. Little is known, however, about the interactional dynamics among students in engineering work groups. To explore these dynamics and their implications for engineering education, we analyzed work sessions of student groups in a sophomore‐level chemical engineering course at North Carolina State University. Using conversation analysis as a methodology for understanding how students taught and learned from one another, we found that group members generally engaged in two types of teaching‐learning interactions. In the first type, transfer‐of‐knowledge (TK) sequences, they took on distinct teacher and pupil roles, and in the second, collaborative sequences (CS), they worked together with no clear role differentiation. The interactional problems that occurred during the work sessions were associated primarily with TK sequences, and had to do with students who either habitually assumed the pupil's role (constant pupils) or habitually discouraged others' contributions (blockers). Our findings suggest that professors can facilitate student group interactions by introducing students to the two modes of teaching interaction so group members can effectively manage exchanges of knowledge, and also by helping students distribute tasks in a way that minimizes role imbalances.     

A theme for on-line Web-based assessment [of control engineeringstudents]

An online assessment mechanism for educational performance using Web technology is presented. The assessment can be undertaken at a time and place convenient to the student and can provide feedback quickly. It has been designed primarily to enable students of control engineering to assess their level of understanding and preparation of an experiment before actually carrying it out in the laboratory. The questions are structured to have multiple choice or true/false types of answers and there is an automatic marking facility. Although designed for on-campus students, the scheme can easily be extended to distance education     

The development of a Web-based teaching system for engineeringeducation

This article discusses the development of a real-time interactive Web-based teaching system for engineering students. This remote teaching system will provide flexibility in future college education and could benefit distance learners wishing to update their knowledge or skill without interfering with their jobs. In addition to delivering conventional lecture notes via the Web and providing interactive feedback, the system enables some practical work to be distributed via the Internet; results of the work are monitored and analysed. Finally, the effectiveness of various approaches to using the Web for distance learning is reported     

Using Technology to Deliver Distance Education in Computer Science*

During the past few years, four distance education courses in computer science were designed, developed, and delivered at Université Laval. These courses make use of thirteen 30-minute television programs that form an integral part of the teaching and learning content. Each television program was rigorously designed for its role in the corresponding course. One of these courses is discussed in this paper. Data taken from distance and on-campus students are used to address the following question: Does delivery mode (full television-based distance education, partial television-based distance education, in-class education) affect learning? The main result of this study is that there was no significant difference in effectiveness of the distance learning approach compared to more traditional approaches.     

A Teaching Workshop for Engineering Faculty

A quality engineering education is of utmost importance to undergraduate students seeking an engineering degree. Providing a quality education to these students is the responsibility of engineering faculty. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University (USU), in cooperation with the officers of the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), has developed a series of six lessons focusing on teaching skills and faculty performance in the classroom. This series of lessons, known as the “Undergraduate Teaching Workshop”, is an effort to improve the teaching of the department faculty, and thereby the undergraduate education of its students. The lessons that make up this workshop range from student concerns to the use of learning resources and equipment. This paper discusses the workshop format and the experience we had with the workshop as it was conducted within our department.     

Efficacy of Interactive Internet‐Based Education in Structural Timber Design

While traditional teaching methods (e.g., real‐time, synchronous lectures) have proven effective for training future engineers, the Internet provides an avenue to reinforce the material and augment student learning, comprehension, and retention of material. This paper presents the integration and assessment of a library of interactive instructional modules specifically for a senior‐level undergraduate elective course in civil engineering. An ongoing, comprehensive assessment process was implemented in the fall 1999 semester. The results of this quantitative assessment indicate that the use of well designed and pedagogically sound Internet‐based supplemental modules provide students with a better understanding of course material. However, when Internet‐based content does not promote critical thinking, little increase in the student performance and understanding of the material is realized. Interactive Web‐based instruction should not be viewed as a “replacement” to traditional instruction, but rather a tool that provides a broader and more dynamic environment for students with a variety of learning styles.     

Cooperative Education Work Assignments: The Role of Organizational and Individual Factors in Enhancing ABET Competencies and Co‐op Workplace Well‐Being

In this study, we examine the role of individual differences and early employment experiences on learning outcomes and subjective well‐being for first‐term cooperative education students. By tracking students through their first semester work assignment, we were able to follow student adjustment and demonstrate the linkages to important ABET learning outcomes. Data were collected during pre‐employment, mid‐semester, and post‐employment surveys. The results suggest that there are some early warning signs of lack of adjustment that are related to both motivational anxiety and lack of initial social contacts during socialization. However, mid‐semester reports of proactive behavior by the student had a significant impact on both learning outcomes and well‐being.     

Distance learning, virtual classrooms, and teaching pedagogy in the Internet environment

The Internet and distance learning have created a new business and a new teaching pedagogy. The purpose of this paper is to show how data communication technologies have affected distance learning and pedagogy, and help teachers and students in virtual classrooms. In particular, the paper addresses the history of distance learning, current issues, the federal government’s role, and four specific areas of improvement: curricula change, new patterns of interaction, changes in organizational structures, and the roles and activities of participants in both business and academic distance-learning environments.     

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Computer Tutorials Versus Traditional Lecturing in Accounting Topics

Colleges and universities are continually making efforts to incorporate computers and technology into the varied aspects of their teaching environments. However, it is difficult to distinguish the effectiveness of these machine tutors from their human counterparts. There has been much debate about technology‐based instructional strategies in learning environments. This article addresses one issue of that debate—the effectiveness of teaching undergraduate engineering students using computer‐mediated tutorials versus traditional lecturing. Specifically, this research compared student test scores using computer‐mediated accounting tutorials alone with those of students who received traditional lectures and computer‐mediated tutorials on the same topic. Statistical analyses were performed to determine which was a better instructional method. Based on previous research by the authors and other published research, it was hypothesized that both methods would be satisfactory instructional tools and yield similar educational results. The results indicate that there was no statistically significant difference between the two methods. This was consistent with previous studies. This study concludes that computer‐mediated tutorials could be substituted for traditional lectures without impacting what a student learns—at least for teaching accounting fundamentals.     

Effectiveness of an Internet‐Based Graduate Engineering Management Course

This research provides engineering educators analytical evidence as to the effectiveness of Internet‐based course instruction. The research examined the University of Missouri‐Rolla's Internet‐based Advanced Production and Operations Management course, with a focus on determining the effectiveness of the Internet‐based education tools used. Over 100 students in five Internet‐based classes and one traditional, in‐class control group were given three sets of surveys, learning style assessments, a course pre‐test, and a course final examination. Multiple conclusions were drawn from this study based on analyses of the data collected. First, the Internet‐based students performed equally as well as the control group as measured by the difference between pre‐test and post‐test scores. Second, the Internet‐based students were found to have had exaggerated time requirement expectations for taking a course in the Internet environment. Third, the students rated the effectiveness and satisfaction positively for the Internet classroom format. Initially, the Internet‐based students were skeptical of electronic lectures but their experiences were positive.     

Distance education as a response to pandemics: Coronavirus and Arab culture

Some countries have replaced face-to-face education with distance education in response to the coronavirus. This form of distance education differs from conventional distance education: being suddenly, unreadily and forcefully implemented, invading schooling and constituting a globally discussed phenomenon. This article builds a conceptual framework for this education, addressing the question: What are the ramifications of implementing distance education amid coronavirus? It targets Arab culture, although globalisation and the media may have harmonised any substantial cross-cultural variations. Various ramifications have emerged through analysing social-media posts, online classes and interviews. Concerning social and cultural ramifications, some may, for ideological considerations, tolerate, support, reject or subvert this education through campaigning, rumour and humour. Regarding pedagogical and psychological ramifications, unreadiness and incompetence may compromise education. Additionally, staying home may entail problems (pandemic-related stress, anxiety, depression, domestic violence, divorce and pregnancy), preventing students and teachers from learning and teaching. Concerning procedural and logistical ramifications, some Arab contexts may be digitally readier than non-Arab contexts. Additionally, stakeholders may intensify efforts to profit, ethically or unethically, from the over-demand for this education. Distance education is one of several social distancing initiatives, which Arabs have welcomed despite their well-rooted social closeness, bonding to debond, forming unorthodox ‘distanceship’.     

A Flexible Multimedia Instructional Module for Introductory Thermodynamics

Instructional modules for introductory thermodynamics which are multifaceted and sufficiently flexible to adapt to the various learning styles of most engineering students are currently being developed at the University of Louisville. Flexibility is incorporated through the utilization of computer controlled interactive multimedia displays, which include full motion graphical images and sound. This technology makes it possible for the instructor to present information in a manner that is faster, more visually appealing, more organized, more detailed, and more open to student interaction than the student lecture format. The instructional modules under development will allow the instructor to implement several different types of classroom activity during a single class period. These include audio-visual presentations, problem solving sessions, and question and answer sessions using electronic acquisition of the student responses, as well as the usual lecture type of presentation. Parts of the module are available outside of the classroom as computer based tutorials. The module chosen for initial development was the “First Law of Thermodynamics for a Closed System.” The first version of this module has been completed and given preliminary trials in the classroom. This module includes optional material on the historical development of the first law of thermodynamics, and also a variety of optional problems, exercises, and short quizzes. Students have responded very favorably to the new system. Completion of the rest of the modules for the course is planned for the near future.     

建构主义学习理论下在线设计教育的交互方法研究

目的 在“互联网+教育”的时代背景下,探究提升在线设计教育体验的交互方法。方法 通过分析建构主义学习理论指导下的学习模式,探讨其介入在线设计教育的意义,结合设计学科的教学特点,洞察在线设计教学中的用户交互行为问题与需求,以学生为中心,从情境、协作、会话以及意义建构四个方面构建在线设计教育的交互方法模型。结果 总结了建构主义学习理论下在线设计教育的交互设计流程,结合在线设计教育平台的实践研究,提出了完善课堂情境创设、提升课堂指导效果、促进协作交流、优化在线氛围、辅助设计阐述训练等具体的交互设计方法。结论 基于建构主义学习理论,优化在线设计教育的交互方法,能够更好地提升用户教学体验,有助于用户完成自身的意义建构。     

Improving the quality of student learning: a systems approach

The study of engineering student learning is only really beneficial when examined in real-life settings. Students have their own, sometimes reactionary ideas about what affects the quality of their learning. Learning does not take place in convenient isolation and has to be understood in terms of cognition, behaviour, affect and context. Engineering undergraduate education must be seen as fitting into the general system known as `Higher Education', where teaching and learning are inextricably linked. Students may be initiated into the type of learning required of them, but this can be negated by unsupportive teaching elsewhere in the curriculum. In an attempt to describe at least the factors internal to the individual, the authors suggest some of the contextual dimensions affecting how students operate in an engineering learning environment     

基于校园网的图学教学研究

基于网络技术的教学模式是我国当前远程教育发展的基本趋势。作者探讨了基于校园网络环境下工程图学教学的特点,认为网络教学的重点在于教学设计。在当前网络教学尚无一套完备的可供参考的教学方式和方法的前提下,以该校机械制图课程的网络教学设计为例,建立了一种网络教学模式,并对网络教学容易产生的一些问题进行了讨论。