Using Flash Animations and 3D Rendering to Increase the Effectiveness of Instructional Software

Animation and three-dimensional rendering software offers exciting new capabilities that can enhance engineering instructional material. Using these software tools, instructional media can escape the static two-dimensional confines of the printed page or the classroom blackboard. This work-in-progress describes a project to develop instructional material for a Mechanics of Materials course. The paper presents examples of instructional animations, discusses software development tools used to create the animations and discusses early student reaction to the multimedia presentation

Comprehensive Evaluation of Animated Instructional Software for Mechanics of Materials

During the past three years, the Basic Engineering Department at the University of Missouri--Rolla has been developing a second-generation suite of instructional software called MecMovies for the mechanics of materials course. In the Fall 2003 semester, MecMovies was integrated into assignments throughout the entire semester for one of the six UMR mechanics of materials sections. This paper presents a comparison of student performance in the experimental section with student performance in five control sections along with discussion of student qualitative ratings and comments

An Inverted Teaching Model for a Mechanics of Materials Course

Instructors at Missouri University of Science and Technology have been offering certain sections of a mechanics of materials course in an inverted format for the past two years. In this format, students learn the concepts outside of class, using a textbook, animations and videos developed by the authors, and work on homework either individually or in groups during the optional class time. Students take eight multiple-choice exams and a final exam that is common to both the inverted sections and the more traditional lecture-based sections. Homework in the inverted sections is assigned but not graded. The in-class exams are given in a computer lab, and each student receives an individualized set of questions. Over 1200 students in 18 course sections have participated in either the inverted sections themselves or the other non-traditional sections that preceded the particular format used today. A subset of this group was compared to students in the traditional sections. No statistically significant difference between the two groups was found based on (1) performance on the common final exams or (2) course grade in a structural analysis course. The animations and videos used by students in the inverted sections are available on a class web site. There are 167 animation modules and 230 videos. The animations contain example problems and exercises. The videos are, on average, six minutes in length and cover concepts, demonstrations, problem strategies, problem solutions, and experiments. The authors use Google Analytics to track how much each piece of content is utilized. The website was accessed 46,500 times, and the content, excluding the animations, was used for a total of 12,700 hours during the past 16 months. By tracking how students perform on each multiple-choice question, the authors have developed a concept inventory with numerical rankings from the best to worst understood concepts. Combining this with how much each online resource is utilized, the authors can now target development of future course materials on the least-understood concepts and in the format most preferred by the students. An inverted teaching format would not be appropriate for every college course, but it has helped the authors begin looking at their mechanics of materials course in a more scientific, data-driven manner

User experience of panoramic video in CAVE-like and head mounted display viewing conditions

Panoramic 360 video is a rapidly growing part of interactive TV viewing experience due to the increase of both production by consumers and professionals and the availability of consumer headsets used to view it. Recent years have also seen proposals for the development of home systems that could ultimately approximate CAVE-like experiences. The question arises as to the nature of the user experience of viewing panoramic video in head mounted displays compared to CAVE-like systems. User preference seems hard to predict. Accordingly, this study took a qualitative approach to describing user experience of viewing a panoramic video on both platforms, using a thematic analysis. Sixteen users tried both viewing conditions and equal numbers expressed preferences for each display system. The differences in user experience by viewing condition are discussed in detail via themes emerging from the analysis

Effects of viewing condition on user experience of panoramic video

Panoramic video arises at the convergence of TV and virtual reality, and it is necessary to understand how these technologies interact to affect user experience in order to produce useful content. TV and film makers have developed a sophisticated language and set of techniques to achieve directed linear story telling on fixed screens, whereas virtual worlds more often emphasise user led exploration of possibly non-linear narrative and aspects such as presence and immersion in navigable 3D environments. This study focused on the user experience of panoramic video as viewed over two conditions, on a VR headset and using a handheld phone, and compared this to watching on a static screen thus emphasising the differences between traditional and panoramic TV. A qualitative approach to analysis was taken where users participated in semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was performed which produced thematic maps describing user experience for each condition. A detailed and nuanced account of emerging themes is given. Subsequently, key themes were identified and graphed to produce user response profiles to the three viewing conditions that highlight differences in user experience in terms of presence, attention, engagement, concentration on story, certainty, comfort and social eas

A New Chip-Set for ASTRA Digital Radio

This chip-set provides the channel and source decoding functions for ASTRA Digital Radio (ADR) receivers. An overview of the system is given together with a summary of the main features of the ICs. The chip-set offers a flexible, but optimum solution to meet the requirements for low cost consumer sets

Glycine Receptors Support Excitatory Neurotransmitter Release in Developing Mouse Visual Cortex.

Glycine receptors (GlyRs) are found in most areas of the brain, and their dysfunction can cause severe neurological disorders. While traditionally thought of as inhibitory receptors, presynaptic-acting GlyRs (preGlyRs) can also facilitate glutamate release under certain circumstances, although the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. In the current study, we sought to better understand the role of GlyRs in the facilitation of excitatory neurotransmitter release in mouse visual cortex. Using whole-cell recordings, we found that preGlyRs facilitate glutamate release in developing, but not adult, visual cortex. The glycinergic enhancement of neurotransmitter release in early development depends on the high intracellular to extracellular Cl(-) gradient maintained by the Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl(-) cotransporter and requires Ca(2+) entry through voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. The glycine transporter 1, localized to glial cells, regulates extracellular glycine concentration and the activation of these preGlyRs. Our findings demonstrate a developmentally regulated mechanism for controlling excitatory neurotransmitter release in the neocortex

Archives of thrill: the V-Armchair experience

Technology for older people is typically concerned either with health care or accessibility of existing systems. In this paper we take a more ‘entertainment-oriented’ approach to developing experiences aimed at older users. We describe here the design, development and a user study of the V-Armchair, a virtual reality and motion platform based roller coaster experience. The V-Armchair constitutes a blueprint for the digital archiving of physical ride experiences through the simultaneous capture of 360 video, sound and motion. It gives access to thrill experiences to those who may not be able to go on real thrill rides, such as older riders, and it can be considered as a class of technology that could help to support ‘active aging’ as defined by the World Health Organisation. We discuss strategies for capturing and then ‘toning down’ motion experiences to make them accessible for older users. We present a study which explores the user experience of the V-Armchair with an older group (median age 63) using a DK2 headset, and a younger group (median age 25) using a CV1 headset, via thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and a modified version of the Game Experience Questionnaire, and discuss emergent themes such as the role of the presenter, reminiscence, presence and immersion