Content Development for eLearning in Engineering Education

In last ten years or so the traditional chalkboard teaching has been supplemented by audio visual aids like overhead/ slide projectors and videos. The phenomenal growth of Internet has brought in a new teaching media - elearning. The declining cost of Personal Computers, easy and cheaper access to Internet, and improved quality of multimedia software has made it attractive option for both teachers and students. Multimedia courses over the Internet will have the potential to serve a dual purpose by enhancing the learning experience for resident students, while opening the educational experience up to distance students. The content development for web-based courses has to be treated differently than the traditional classroom teaching. Just posting of lecture notes, assignments and the solutions does not help the student in elearning. The content needs to be interactive acting like a virtual teacher. The content development for online engineering education for undergraduate and graduate courses would also need different treatment. A course on Engineering Mechanics for the first year engineering students based on Interactive Virtual Tutor (IVT) system and a course on Bridge Engineering based on Internet Knowledge Base (IKB) format for graduate students has been developed. The methodology adapted in Interactive Virtual Tutor and Internet Knowledge Base is explained in this paper.In last ten years or so the traditional chalkboard teaching has been supplemented by audio visual aids like overhead/ slide projectors and videos. The phenomenal growth of Internet has brought in a new teaching media - elearning. The declining cost of Personal Computers, easy and cheaper access to Internet, and improved quality of multimedia software has made it attractive option for both teachers and students. Multimedia courses over the Internet will have the potential to serve a dual purpose by enhancing the learning experience for resident students, while opening the educational experience up to distance students. The content development for web-based courses has to be treated differently than the traditional classroom teaching. Just posting of lecture notes, assignments and the solutions does not help the student in elearning. The content needs to be interactive acting like a virtual teacher. The content development for online engineering education for undergraduate and graduate courses would also need different treatment. A course on Engineering Mechanics for the first year engineering students based on Interactive Virtual Tutor (IVT) system and a course on Bridge Engineering based on Internet Knowledge Base (IKB) format for graduate students has been developed. The methodology adapted in Interactive Virtual Tutor and Internet Knowledge Base is explained in this paper

Effect of Self Help Group (SHG) to Stop Smoking Attitudes Among Students

The smoking prevalence among youth aged more than 15 years old and so, raising 34,8 % of male and 2,7 % among those female one. Thus, health education program is needed in order to improve youth knowledge on the negative impacts of smoking. This study has been conducted among students of Mexhanical Engineering school in Uni- versitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. This study was a quasy-experimen- tal study. The sample were 52 students who smoked and were divided into two groups, intervention and control gruop. The sampling tech- nique used was random sampling method. Test analysis used Wilcoxon test and Mann-Whitney for attitude. Results : The analysis test showed there was a significant effect of Self Help Group (SHG) on attitude with p=0,000 (0,05). There was a differences on knowledge between inter- vention and control groups with p=0,000 (p<0,05). This new inven- tion on health education method using social media, is important to be developed. Facebook as one of the easy platform of social media to access, will giving more benefit to the community in achieving distance health education

Content Development for eLearning in Engineering Education

In last ten years or so the traditional chalkboard teaching has been supplemented by audio visual aids like overhead/ slide projectors and videos. The phenomenal growth of Internet has brought in a new teaching media - elearning. The declining cost of Personal Computers, easy and cheaper access to Internet, and improved quality of multimedia software has made it attractive option for both teachers and students. Multimedia courses over the Internet will have the potential to serve a dual purpose by enhancing the learning experience for resident students, while opening the educational experience up to distance students. The content development for web-based courses has to be treated differently than the traditionalclassroom teaching. Just posting of lecture notes, assignments and the solutions does not helpthe student in elearning. The content needs to be interactive acting like a virtual teacher. Thecontent development for online engineering education for undergraduate and graduate courseswould also need different treatment.A course on Engineering Mechanics for the first year engineering students based on InteractiveVirtual Tutor (IVT) system and a course on Bridge Engineering based on Internet KnowledgeBase (IKB) format for graduate students has been developed. The methodology adapted inInteractive Virtual Tutor and Internet Knowledge Base is explained in this paper.In last ten years or so the traditional chalkboard teaching has been supplemented by audio visual aids like overhead/ slide projectors and videos. The phenomenal growth of Internet has brought in a new teaching media - elearning. The declining cost of Personal Computers, easy and cheaper access to Internet, and improved quality of multimedia software has made it attractive option for both teachers and students. Multimedia courses over the Internet will have the potential to serve a dual purpose by enhancing the learning experience for resident students, while opening the educational experience up to distance students. The content development for web-based courses has to be treated differently than the traditionalclassroom teaching. Just posting of lecture notes, assignments and the solutions does not helpthe student in elearning. The content needs to be interactive acting like a virtual teacher. Thecontent development for online engineering education for undergraduate and graduate courseswould also need different treatment.A course on Engineering Mechanics for the first year engineering students based on InteractiveVirtual Tutor (IVT) system and a course on Bridge Engineering based on Internet KnowledgeBase (IKB) format for graduate students has been developed. The methodology adapted inInteractive Virtual Tutor and Internet Knowledge Base is explained in this paper

DAL and MAL - two projects to improve distance learning in the technical field in Sweden

One of the cornerstones of modern technological society is a well educated public. One way of achieving this is to emphasize distance learning and Life Long Learning (LLL). Swedish universities and colleges with engineering programs are aware of this demand and have started a cooperation to remedy the situation. A LLL-project was formed with participants from all universities and colleges with science and engineering programs. Funding of more than 100 000 Euro was obtained from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen). The first phase of the project is now finished and a second is planned. The project group met regularly and discussed common problems. Pedagogical platforms for distance learning (WebCT, LUVIT and FirstClass) were studied and tested. Existing distance education courses developed in Sweden and internationally were catalogued. The idea of a computerised system for merit portfolios was also developed. Three pilot projects were financed. New distance learning courses were developed and used in more than one university: • a digital signal processor (DSP-lab9) was constructed to be used in computer based laboratory work; • a course in data communication to be used for professional development of technical media personnel; and • a course in automation in production

An investigation into the adoption of CDIO in distance learning

The Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate Initiative (CDIO) uses integrated learning to develop deep learning of the disciplinary knowledge base whilst simultaneously developing personal, interpersonal, product, process and system building skills. This is achieved through active and experiential learning methods that expose students to experiences engineers will encounter in their profession. These are incorporated not only in the design-build-test experiences that form a crucial part of a CDIO programme but also in discipline focused studies. Active and experiential learning methods are, of course, more difficult to incorporate into distance education. This paper investigates these difficulties and the implications in providing a programme that best achieves the goals of the CDIO approach through contemporary distance education methods. First, the key issues of adopting the CDIO approach in conventional oncampus courses are considered with reference to the development of the CDIO engineering programmes at the University of Liverpool. The different models of distance based delivery of engineering programmes provided by the Open University in the UK, and Deakin University and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia are then presented and issues that may present obstacles to the future adoption of the CDIO approach in these programmes are discussed. The effectiveness and suitability of various solutions to foreseen difficulties in delivering CDIO programmes through distance education are then considered. These include the further development, increased use and interinstitutional sharing of technology based facilities such as Internet facilitated access to laboratory facilities and computer aided learning (CAL) laboratory simulations, on campus workshops, and the development of a virtual engineering enterprise

Combining feminist pedagogy and transactional distance to create gender-sensitive technology-enhanced learning

In this paper, we argue for a new synthesis of two pedagogic theories: feminist pedagogy and transactional distance, which explain why and how distance education has been such a positive system for women in a national distance learning university. We illustrate this with examples of positive action initiatives for women. The concept of transactional distance allows us to explore distance as a form of psychological and communication space, not simply of geographical distance. Feminist pedagogy, on the other hand, has recognised the importance of gender in structuring disciplines as well as teaching strategies. Both theories implicitly position the face-to-face classroom as the ideal learning environment, with the implication that distance learning has to produce a deficient environment. We argue that the evidence for women does not support this and present examples of feminist distance learning provision that has offered successful technology-enhanced learning and educational opportunities

Learning flexibility: the environment and a case study

This paper outlines the flexible student learning environment in the Faculty of Engineering and Surveying, before concentrating on evaluating one online learning option. This Faculty provides a variety of high quality on-campus, distance education and on-line academic programmes and various learning strategies for the heterogeneous student cohort (national and international). By accessing appropriate flexible learning and different learning experiences, students are empowered to determine learning opportunities and methodologies to suit their personal needs. The off-campus mode study may disadvantage students since they don’t have the benefit of face-to-face instructions or to participate in formative assessments delivered informally in lectures. This may lead to feelings of remoteness and isolation leading to poorer learning, lower results in assessments, and may also contribute to drop-out rates, particularly in first year courses. To overcome this inequity, the usual training materials presented for a first year course in 2005 were supplemented with PowerPoint lectures, enhanced with synchronous audio, and a series of quizzes to be used as formative assessments. The lectures and quizzes were presented online via a course web site and were designed to become an integral part of the learning experience. An evaluation of the effectiveness of these strategy demonstrated improved students' learning, a positive contribution to the learning experience, increased enjoyment of the course, and a strong learning motivator. Students reported feeling less disenfranchised with the university and having a greater affinity with the lecturer

Implementing an Android Tool for Visually Impaired Students of E-Learning

This article aims to describe the process of learning and development of an educational tool designed for mobile devices (smartphones) with Android technology. In summary, the application was developed based on the virtual learning environment Moodle and aims to develop a learning environment that supports the visually impaired students of e-learning, allowing them to ask questions, discuss and share ideas through forums and use chat rooms in real time. The fundamental purpose of this application is to cooperate with scientific knowledge in the sense that this is a representation of technological advance on the accessibility tools in distance education mode and provide comfort, flexibility and accessibility for the visually impaired students, realizing that education should always be inclusive

Teaching programming at a distance: the Internet software visualization laboratory

This paper describes recent developments in our approach to teaching computer programming in the context of a part-time Masters course taught at a distance. Within our course, students are sent a pack which contains integrated text, software and video course material, using a uniform graphical representation to tell a consistent story of how the programming language works. The students communicate with their tutors over the phone and through surface mail. Through our empirical studies and experience teaching the course we have identified four current problems: (i) students' difficulty mapping between the graphical representations used in the course and the programs to which they relate, (ii) the lack of a conversational context for tutor help provided over the telephone, (iii) helping students who due to their other commitments tend to study at 'unsociable' hours, and (iv) providing software for the constantly changing and expanding range of platforms and operating systems used by students. We hope to alleviate these problems through our Internet Software Visualization Laboratory (ISVL), which supports individual exploration, and both synchronous and asynchronous communication. As a single user, students are aided by the extra mappings provided between the graphical representations used in the course and their computer programs, overcoming the problems of the original notation. ISVL can also be used as a synchronous communication medium whereby one of the users (generally the tutor) can provide an annotated demonstration of a program and its execution, a far richer alternative to technical discussions over the telephone. Finally, ISVL can be used to support asynchronous communication, helping students who work at unsociable hours by allowing the tutor to prepare short educational movies for them to view when convenient. The ISVL environment runs on a conventional web browser and is therefore platform independent, has modest hardware and bandwidth requirements, and is easy to distribute and maintain. Our planned experiments with ISVL will allow us to investigate ways in which new technology can be most appropriately applied in the service of distance education