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Session 3215

The Civil Engineering Resource Library: Developing A Multimedia Education Resource

Paul S. Chinowsky Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract The delivery of civil engineering projects requires civil engineers to address a broad spectrum of issues generated by both project participants and regulatory agencies. Providing tools that assist team members in addressing these issues through the use of information and knowledge from previous projects may reduce project errors by creating informed decision-makers. Recent advances in communications and computer technologies provide the opportunity to enhance student access to these resources. The Civil Engineering Resource Library research effort explores this opportunity by combining an introduction to civil engineering processes with emerging Web-based technologies. This combination is captured in an electronic library that uses case studies to illustrate emerging civil engineering practices and regulatory compliance strategies.

Introduction The lifecycle of civil engineering projects incorporates a broad and diverse set of design and construction issues. From initial project development through construction and operations, civil engineers address a broad spectrum of requirements established by direct constituents including the owner and the design team and indirect constituents including regulatory agencies and jurisdictional governments. The combination of aesthetic, engineering, and regulatory issues creates a diverse, and often conflicting, set of demands that result in each project appearing to be a one-of-a-kind endeavor. While this diversity reduces the opportunity for civil engineers to apply previous project solutions directly, diversity increases the need to provide documentation and storage tools that enable civil engineers to learn and extrapolate from previous solutions. Specifically, tools that provide team members with information and knowledge from previous projects can assist in reducing project errors by creating informed decision-makers. For example, the consistency of external issues such as wetland regulations over extended periods of time provides an opportunity to establish information libraries that highlight project solutions and compliance strategies. This opportunity is the basis for the Civil Engineering Resource Library, an electronic case library for civil engineering students and educators.

The Resource Library research effort combines two motivating factors; (1) knowledge of emerging solutions to environmental concerns is essential as increasing emphasis is placed on environmental responsibility, and (2) computer technologies should be integrated into the classroom environment to augment traditional learning techniques. In terms of the former, as environmental awareness and responsibility moves to the forefront of design influences, civil engineers must receive education covering compliance strategies for local, state, and national environmental policies. Achieving this awareness establishes the second research motivation, the integration of computer technologies into civil engineering classrooms. Specifically, the research effort combines an introduction to civil engineering processes with emerging Web- based technologies to create an electronic library that uses case studies to illustrate emerging civil

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Chinowsky, P. S. (1998, June), The Civil Engineering Resource Library: Developing A Multimedia Education Resource Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--6961