Asynchronous Computer Based Training As A Means Of Integrating The Use Of Engineering Software Into The Curriculum

The continuous growth in the use of engineering software in the practice of engineering has impacted engineering education. Graduates are increasingly expected to be familiar with several engineering software packages. Although the use of engineering software has allowed for the removal of some course content, there is still not adequate time to teach the use of software in the classroom. The use of asynchronous computer based training provides an effective means of instruction of engineering software that is self paced and does not take away from class time used to cover theory and fundamentals. Students react positively to the computer based instruction since it can be accessed on their schedule, at their own pace, and repeated as necessary. Obstacles to the development of materials have been overcome through the use of inexpensive screen capture software that is easy to use and can be produced in minutes. Such software has been used in Mechanical Engineering to teach Pro-Engineer in a Freshman Engineering Graphics course, MathCAD and Working Model in a Kinematics and Dynamics course, LabView in a Measurements and Instrumentation course, and is being developed for teaching Visual Nastran in a Finite Elements course. The initial impact of introducing asynchronous computer based training in each course is discussed in addition to the methods used to develop materials. A web-based faculty development resource is described that is available to assist in the development of like materials and as a repository for developed materials. INTRODUCTION Engineering education faces a new challenge with the growing power and propensity of computers. Engineering software is readily available that allow for design, simulation, analysis, and control that push the capabilities of a trained engineer to new heights. The power of these new tools has become such that it is hard to imagine the practice of engineering without them. While these new tools have lessened the importance of some engineering content the majority of the engineering curriculum has been unaffected. Although students need to be familiar with the new software it cannot come at the expense of a solid understanding of the fundamentals of key topics taught in the classroom. If significant time cannot be diverted for the teaching of software in the classroom other methods must be used. Asynchronous computer based training gives a powerful alternative to classroom instruction for the teaching of engineering software. The teaching of core engineering principles requires interpretation and a developed understanding that generally requires discussion with the instructor. The learning of engineering software however is more easily adapted to computerbased training. One of the key advantages of computer-based training is that the training and student interaction with the software occurs on the same platform. The use of asynchronous P ge 849.1 delivery allows students to enter the training at the appropriate level. Students can select additional training in areas of weakness and skip ahead if they are familiar with a topic. Additionally, students can receive training on their own schedule and at their own pace. The materials can easily be delivered through the Internet or on CDs making training available in computer labs or on home computers. Finally, the instruction can be repeated and reviewed if students need repetition to grasp and retain instructions. One of the roadblocks to the extensive development of computer-based training has been the required investment of time. The development of real-time screen capture technology has reduced the investment of time to that of classroom instruction with the advantage that it can be delivered asynchronously outside of the classroom. Four courses were identified in the mechanical engineering curriculum where significant teaching of engineering software was required. Pro-Engineer is taught in a Freshman Engineering Graphics course, MathCAD and Working Model are used in a Kinematics and Dynamics of Mechanisms course, LabView is taught in a Measurements and Instrumentation course, and material is being developed for teaching Visual Nastran in a Finite Elements course. Under funding from a NSF CCLI grant, instructional materials were developed which incorporates screen capture movies for use in asynchronous computer-based training. SCREEN CAPTURE The development of instructional materials for the teaching of engineering software has been made possible through the use of real-time screen capture software. Although several screen capture programs exist, Camtasia by TechSmith was selected for its compatibility with other software, minimal impact on the processor, ease of use, and compression of output files. The program operates like a simple tape recorder. A record button starts the screen capture and a function key stops the movie and saves to a file. The program can be configured to visually display mouse clicks, highlight the cursor position, and record audio and screen activity in real time. The screen is relatively static for most instruction, which significantly reduces the size of the screen capture movies. Most movies were recorded at a screen resolution of 600x800 with eightbit color. The audio format was set to eight-bit mono sampled at 11kHz using PCM compression. With these settings and typical screen activity for teaching software applications the movies require about 1.0MB per minute. It is therefore possible to record several hours of instruction on a CD, which can easily be distributed to students. The files can be saved as AVI files that can be played with the Windows media player or any application that plays AVI files. The Real One Player plays movies back full scale by default, which is a distinct advantage when trying to read small text such as menu items in pull down menus. The choice of 600x800 resolution for screen captures gives sufficient screen size for most applications and gives room for the Media player controls when viewed. Although the movies can be played back using fullscreen mode the students are encouraged to jump back and forth between the application and the movie. This is most easily accomplished when both the application and the movie are visible on the screen. ENGINEERING GRAPHICS P ge 849.2 Figure 1. A tutorial movie used to walk students through the homework step by step. The screen capture movies were first developed for the engineering graphics course out of a tremendous need for individual assistance in the lab. The diversity of student backgrounds and abilities made the group teaching of CAD software very ineffective even with the use of lab assistants. After an hour of classroom instruction some students had retained all of the instruction and were ready to progress while others were stuck on the first set of instructions. In an effort to keep everyone in the class productive a number of screen capture movies as shown in Figure 1 were made that walked the students through the homework assignments. The movies were simply recordings of the instructor doing each homework assignment. The first set of instructional movies comprised of approximately 10 hours of instruction used over a fifteen-week period. The materials were delivered on a web site with access to lecture notes, games, and quizzes as described in an article by Crown (1999). The use of the instructional movies in the lab significantly changed the pace of the course. Students that caught onto material quickly would watch the movie in its entirety and then do the homework on their own using the knowledge they had gained through watching the movie. These students were not impacted by the development of the movies and had been successful with classroom instruction. The majority of students, however, would watch a portion of the movie