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Session 1358

Statics On-Line: A Project Review

David B. Oglesby, Edwin R. Carney, Michael Prissovsky, Dave Crites University of Missouri - Rolla

Abstract: Software developers and content experts from the Basic Engineering Department at the University of Missouri-Rolla are engaged in the development of on-line learningware material for Engineering Mechanics - Statics. An initial, draft release of Statics On-Line is planned for the Fall 1998 semester. This paper provides an overview of the project.

Statics On-Line is described from a number of different perspectives. The eventual commercial product is envisioned for use by on-campus students with their on-campus instructors. The product, with its audio/graphic mini-lectures and various interactive components, presents an instructor with the opportunity to experiment with how classroom time is spent. The pedagogical components that comprise Statics On-Line are discussed in some detail.

The Statics On-Line project emerged from two separate, but related, projects. One was a multimedia project aimed at developing tools to aid the instructor in the classroom. This first project was called “BEST” (Basic Engineering Software for Teaching) Statics. A second project, On Call Instruction (OCI) for Statics, was directed more toward the students from the outset. Its aim was to provide audio mini-lectures and other supplementary material directly to the student over the Internet on a “just in time” basis. By combining the two projects into Statics On-Line, the result has been a product that better addresses the needs of both teacher and learner. Portions of the software are currently in use by on-campus students and instructors at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Introduction: The faculty of the Basic Engineering Department at the University of Missouri- Rolla (UMR) are actively engaged in the development and use of technology in the classroom. Two software tutorial projects, funded in part by the Instructional Software Development Center at UMR, have emerged under the BEST™ series of products banner. The first and most mature BEST™ (Basic Engineering Software for Teaching) project is the Engineering Mechanics - Dynamics1,2 project. This project was followed by the “BEST” Statics project. Yet another project3, sponsored by the department, experimented with distributing course material and competency quizzes via the Internet. A more recent project, On Call Instruction for Statics, experiments with the delivery of course mini-lectures via the Internet.

Many of the lessons learned and much of the material developed by the projects outlined above are now being combined to form a new product referred to as Statics On-Line. Statics On-Line evolved from “BEST” Statics and On Call Instruction for Statics. “BEST” Statics was primarily a multimedia project aimed at developing tools to aid the instructor in the classroom; while, On Call Instruction (OCI) for Statics was directed more toward the students with the aim of providing audio mini-lectures and other supplementary material directly to the student over the

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Prissovsky, M., & Carney, E. R., & Oglesby, D. B., & Crites, D. (1998, June), Statics On Line: A Project Review Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7424