WIP: Utilizing Webcam Technology to Bring Students Into the Field

When possible, field trips are arranged in construction management (CM) educational programs allowing students to observe the conditions and communications typical of jobsite activities. Unfortunately, field trips present numerous challenges. As an alternative, webcam technology can be utilized as a means to provide job site observation without many of the drawbacks experienced with field trips. A study designed to investigate webcam technologies suitable for use in the university setting; to implement the use of the technology to carry out live field trips at the Purdue University Department of Building Construction Management; and to survey students, professors, and field personnel who experienced the job site to classroom webcam educational activities was conducted during the 2006 – 2007 school year. This initial use of live wireless webcam technology for CM field trips was received with enthusiasm by students, faculty, and the field personnel that worked with the equipment. Additional study is planned to ascertain the potential for attracting underrepresented populations to CM programs through mentored wireless webcam construction field trips. Project tour guides, selected for their ability to relate to the student participants, will demonstrate career opportunities in the construction industry. Students in two high school programs will participate in “live” two-way connections to mentors in the field, allowing students to interact during the project tours rather than viewing the video passively. This exploratory study will utilize pre-testing to establish the participants’ preferred learning styles and construction career awareness as expressed through career selfefficacy. Post-test analysis of changes in construction career efficacy after participating in wireless webcam field trips will be used to ascertain the degree to which learning style and various wireless webcam interventions influence career self-efficacy. Best practices for successful recruitment using wireless webcam field trips will be developed and disseminated.

[1]  Robert W. Lent,et al.  Career self-efficacy: Empirical status and future directions , 1987 .

[2]  W. B. Johnston.  Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the 21st Century. , 1987 .

[3]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[4]  Jeffery E. Olson,et al.  A Meta-Analytic Validation of the Dunn and Dunn Model of Learning-Style Preferences , 1995 .

[5]  J. L. Holland,et al.  Making vocational choices : a theory of vocational personalities and work environments , 1984 .

[6]  D. Super.  A life-span, life-space approach to career development , 1980 .

[7]  Darrell Anthony Luzzo.  A Psychometric Evaluation of the Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy Scale , 1996 .

[8]  R. Schwarzer,et al.  Is General Self-Efficacy a Universal Construct?1 , 2002 .

[9]  I. Gati.  Making Career Decisions--A Sequential Elimination Approach. , 1986 .

[10]  Thomas F. Hawk,et al.  Using Learning Style Instruments to Enhance Student Learning , 2007 .

[11]  Nancy E. Betz,et al.  Efficacy and Outcome Expectations Influence Career Exploration and Decidedness. , 1997 .

[12]  Erik H. Erikson,et al.  Identity youth and crisis, New York (W W Norton) 1968. , 1968 .

[13]  M. Fine,et al.  Qualitative and quantitative methods: When stories converge , 1987 .

[14]  Tariq S. Abdelhamid,et al.  Evaluation of teacher-student learning style disparity in construction management education , 2003 .

[15]  Victoria A. Shivy,et al.  Applying vocational interest models to naturally occurring occupational perceptions , 1999 .

[16]  Nancy E. Betz,et al.  The Career Psychology of Women , 1987 .

[17]  L. Brooks,et al.  Career choice and development: Applying contemporary theories to practice (2nd ed.). , 1986 .

[18]  Dale J. Prediger.  Basic Structure of Work-Relevant Abilities. , 1999 .

[19]  Paul J. Hartung,et al.  Assessing Career Certainty and Choice Status , 1995 .

[20]  Maria K. Hatzios.  Effective Models for Measuring Students' Attitudes Toward the Marketing Education Program , 1996 .

[21]  A. K. Ganzel,et al.  Adolescent Decision Making , 1999 .

[22]  R. Schwarzer,et al.  Is General Self-Efficacy a Universal Construct ? * Psychometric Findings from 25 Countries , 2002 .

[23]  K. Hughey,et al.  The Impact of an Intervention on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Career Indecision , 1999 .

[24]  Richard A. Boser,et al.  Students' Attitudes toward Technology in Selected Technology Education Programs. , 1998 .

[25]  J. Norwood,et al.  Occupational outlook handbook , 1990 .

[26]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[27]  R. Dunn,et al.  Multiculturalism and Learning Style: Teaching and Counseling Adolescents , 1995 .

[28]  Employed persons by detailed occupation , sex , race , and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity , 2015 .

[29]  Duane Brown,et al.  Values in Life Role Choices and Outcomes: A Conceptual Model , 1996 .

[30]  F. Coffield.  Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: a systematic and critical review , 2004 .

[31]  Mark Shaurette.  Assessment of webcam technology on teaching and learning in construction management education , 2007 .

[32]  James B. Pocock,et al.  Bringing Construction Experience into the Classroom , 2003 .

[33]  David M. S. Kimweli,et al.  CHOICE OF A MAJOR AND STUDENTS' APPRECIATION OF THEIR MAJOR , 1999 .

[34]  Mark C Vonnahme.  Engineering News Record , 2002 .

[35]  V. N. Gordon,et al.  EGO-IDENTITY STATUSES OF UNDECIDED AND DECIDED STUDENTS AND THEIR PERCEIVED ADVISING NEEDS , 1989 .

[36]  K. Ecclestone,et al.  Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning , 2004 .

[37]  L. Fitzgerald,et al.  Theoretical advances in the study of women's career development. , 1995 .

[38]  Žiga Turk.  Multimedia: providing students with real world experiences , 2001 .

[39]  Brenda White,et al.  DEPARTMENT OF LABOR , 2006 .

[40]  Nancy E. Betz,et al.  The Relationship of Career-Related Self-Efficacy Expectations to Perceived Career Options in College Women and Men. , 1981 .