Interactive Multimedia for Engineering Dynamics

This paper describes the development, implementation, and functionality of an interactive multimedia program designed to assist students in learning basic concepts in engineering dynamics. The program, currently called MED (Multimedia for Engineering Dynamics), covers the same material addressed in a typical, undergraduate dynamics book, and is designed to serve as a third source–in addition to lectures and textbooks–from which engineering students can learn about dynamics. This program, which is example based, is comprised of 46 example problems, each of which illustrates a specific concept in dynamics. Each example is presented in four parts: Introduction, Theory, Solution, and Simulation. The first three parts, which incorporate graphics, audio components, animations, videos, and hypertext, introduce a problem to the user, present specific concepts in dynamics that are required to solve the problem, and apply the concepts to solve the problem. The fourth part allows the student to experiment with a computer generated simulation of the problem, which is implemented using a player version of Working Model® by Knowledge Revolution. Reference material for engineering dynamics is also accessible via interactive, on-line appendices. MED will be commercially distributed on CD-ROM by Addison-Wesley Interactive (AWI). In order to make MED accessible to the widest variety of engineering students, the CD will be in a form that is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh platforms.