Overview of modern teaching equipment that supports distant learning

Laboratory is a key element of engineering and applied sciences educational systems. With the development of Internet and connecting IT technologies, the appearance of remote laboratories was inevitable. Virtual laboratories are also available; they place the experiment in a simulated environment. However, this writing focuses on remote experiments not virtual ones. From the students’ point of view, it is a great help not only for those enrolling in distant or online courses but also for those studying in a more traditional way. With the spread of smart, portable devices capable of connection to the internet, students can expand or restructure time spent on studying. This is a huge help to them and also allows them to individually divide their time up, to learn how to self-study. This independent approach can prepare them for working environments. It offers flexibility and convenience to the students. From the universities’ point of view, it helps reduce maintenance costs and universities can share experiments which also helps the not so well-resourced educational facilities

Growing the use of Virtual Worlds in education : an OpenSim perspective

The growth in the range of disciplines that Virtual Worlds support for educational purposes is evidenced by recent applications in the fields of cultural heritage, humanitarian aid, space exploration, virtual laboratories in the physical sciences, archaeology, computer science and coastal geography. This growth is due in part to the flexibility of OpenSim, the open source virtual world platform which by adopting Second Life protocols and norms has created a de facto standard for open virtual worlds that is supported by a growing number of third party open source viewers. Yet while this diversity of use-cases is impressive and Virtual Worlds for open learning are highly popular with lecturers and learners alike immersive education remains an essentially niche activity. This paper identifies functional challenges in terms of Management, Network Infrastructure, the Immersive 3D Web and Programmability that must be addressed to enable the wider adoption of Open Virtual Worlds as a routine learning technology platform. We refer to specific use-cases based on OpenSim and abstract generic requirements which should be met to enable the growth in use of Open Virtual Worlds as a mainstream educational facility. A case study of a deployment to support a formal education curriculum and associated informal learning is used to illustrate key points.Postprin

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Transportation Studies through Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training (STREET)

The practice of transportation engineering and planning has evolved substantially over the past several decades. A new paradigm for transportation engineering education is required to better engage students and deliver knowledge. Simulation tools have been used by transportation professionals to evaluate and analyze the potential impact of design or control strategy changes. Conveying complex transportation concepts can be effectively achieved by exploring them through simulation. Simulation is particularly valuable in transportation education because most transportation policies and strategies in the real world take years to implement with a prohibitively high cost. Transportation simulation allows learners to apply different control strategies in a risk-free environment and to expose themselves to transportation engineering methodologies that are currently in practice. Despite the advantages, simulation, however, has not been widely adopted in the education of transportation engineering. Using simulation in undergraduate transportation courses is sporadic and reported efforts have been focused on the upper-level technical elective courses. A suite of web-based simulation modules was developed and incorporated in the undergraduate transportation courses at University of Minnesota. The STREET (Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training) research project was recently awarded by NSF (National Science Foundation) to develop web-based simulation modules to improve instruction in transportation engineering courses and evaluate their effectiveness. Our ultimate goal is to become the epicenter for developing simulation-based teaching materials, an active textbook, which offers an interactive learning environment to undergraduate students. With the hand-on nature of simulation, we hope to improve student understanding of critical concepts in transportation engineering and student motivation toward transportation engineering, and improve student retention in the field. We also would like to disseminate the results and teaching materials to other colleges to integrate the simulation modules in their curricula.Transportation Education and Training, Transportation Simulation, Roadway Geometry Design

The space physics environment data analysis system (SPEDAS)

With the advent of the Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory (H/GSO), a complement of multi-spacecraft missions and ground-based observatories to study the space environment, data retrieval, analysis, and visualization of space physics data can be daunting. The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS), a grass-roots software development platform (www.spedas.org), is now officially supported by NASA Heliophysics as part of its data environment infrastructure. It serves more than a dozen space missions and ground observatories and can integrate the full complement of past and upcoming space physics missions with minimal resources, following clear, simple, and well-proven guidelines. Free, modular and configurable to the needs of individual missions, it works in both command-line (ideal for experienced users) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode (reducing the learning curve for first-time users). Both options have “crib-sheets,” user-command sequences in ASCII format that can facilitate record-and-repeat actions, especially for complex operations and plotting. Crib-sheets enhance scientific interactions, as users can move rapidly and accurately from exchanges of technical information on data processing to efficient discussions regarding data interpretation and science. SPEDAS can readily query and ingest all International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP)-compatible products from the Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF), enabling access to a vast collection of historic and current mission data. The planned incorporation of Heliophysics Application Programmer’s Interface (HAPI) standards will facilitate data ingestion from distributed datasets that adhere to these standards. Although SPEDAS is currently Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based (and interfaces to Java-based tools such as Autoplot), efforts are under-way to expand it further to work with python (first as an interface tool and potentially even receiving an under-the-hood replacement). We review the SPEDAS development history, goals, and current implementation. We explain its “modes of use” with examples geared for users and outline its technical implementation and requirements with software developers in mind. We also describe SPEDAS personnel and software management, interfaces with other organizations, resources and support structure available to the community, and future development plans.Published versio

An interactive geometry modeling and parametric design platform for isogeometric analysis

In this paper an interactive parametric design-through-analysis platform is proposed to help design engineers and analysts make more effective use of Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) to improve their product design and performance. We develop several Rhinoceros (Rhino) plug-ins to take input design parameters through a user-friendly interface, generate appropriate surface and/or volumetric models, perform mechanical analysis, and visualize the solution fields, all within the same Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program. As part of this effort we propose and implement graphical generative algorithms for IGA model creation and visualization based on Grasshopper, a visual programming interface to Rhino. The developed platform is demonstrated on two structural mechanics examples—an actual wind turbine blade and a model of an integrally bladed rotor (IBR). In the latter example we demonstrate how the Rhino functionality may be utilized to create conforming volumetric models for IGA

Implementation of a web-based educational tool for digital signal processing teaching using the technological acceptance model

This paper presents an exploratory study about the improvement and validation of a Web-based educational tool. The tool, designed with Shockwave and Macromedia Director, is used as a teaching methodology in an undergraduate course using modern microprocessors, architectures, and applications. An information system theory, called the Technological Acceptance Model (TAM), has been applied to detect both the use of the tool and the external variables that have a significant influence over it. The obtained results illustrate the strengths and weaknesses to be reinforced and have been taken into account to implement the final version of the tool. The proposed method may be extended to similar tools and experiments to fill the lack of scientific studies in the validation and acceptance of computer-based educational tool

A Chemical Engineering Laboratory over Distributed Control and Measurement Systems

Remote Control of Lab Apparatus Via the Internet Allows Flexible Scheduling of Experiments and Exercises. This Paper Presents a Novel Application of Computers and Internet Technology in Chemical Engineering Education that Highlights Interactive Learning for an Undergraduate Course in Online Measurement and Control. the Proposed Client-Server Architecture Can Be Adapted to Drive Different Kinds of Devices and Can Be Easily Expanded. the Developed Online Laboratory Has Been Tested by Many Students using Different Connections and Operating Conditions. This Internet-Based Solution Can Improve Undergraduate Engineering Education in a Conventional Unit Operation Laboratory. as an Example, the Application of Remote Experiments to Characterize a Plug Flow Reactor is Described. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals Inc