| Abstract: | An innovative approach is reported for teaching structural steel design in a civil engineering undergraduate curriculum. It is based on the interactive environment and graphic capabilities of inexpensive microcomputers. Ten BASIC interactive microcomputer-aided design programs have been developed and used in a senior-level structural steel design course at the Ohio State University. The approach of interactive design and the interactive microcomputer-aided design programs make the learning of structural steel design more exciting and result in more effective training of future designers. Students can gain experience and develop insight in structural design while they are still in an academic environment. |
