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SESSION 2320

Thermodynamic Cycles: A Multimedia, Independent Study Course

Christine E. Hailey, David E. Hailey Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering / Department of English Utah State University

Abstract

During the 1999-2000 academic year, we developed a one-hour multimedia course covering the final third of a traditional thermodynamics course. In the paper we use the term “media” to describe the manner in which the content is delivered. The thermodynamics course is delivered via CD-ROM or Internet. We introduce the term “genre” to describe the nature of the content based on its application. The thermodynamics course is a combination of two genres: textbook supplement and lecture. The course permits students to complete the final five weeks of the thermodynamics course independently. During the summer of 2000, three students successfully completed the one-hour course.

We are confident that lifelong learning will be an important component in our students’ futures, and that much of the learning will take place in a digital environment. For this reason, we feel it is important to introduce students to the importance of lifelong learning and provide them an opportunity to learn independently in a digital environment. Seventy-one students, enrolled in the traditional lecture on campus, successfully completed one of the modules from the multimedia course, delivered over the Internet. They performed as well on an examination question as students who had been exposed to the material in a traditional lecture format.

I. Introduction

A great deal has been written about multimedia and its impact on education. With few exceptions, the research has implied that multimedia tools are at least as effective as traditional tools for teaching. For example, Milton-Benoit et al., developed a multimedia lecture that introduces students to the fundamental concepts and guidelines for finite element modeling. 1 Limited testing on the 45-minute multimedia lecture shows students performed at least as well as students in the traditional lecture on a follow-on assignment. Similarly, Al-Holou developed eight multimedia modules to introduce students to electrical engineering principles.2 The lectures were followed by on-line quizzes. Eighteen students evaluated these lectures and found them useful and easy to learn from. Bailey et al. developed a multimedia module on phase diagrams used in a basic materials science course.3 Roughly 40 students used the module while 40 other students had a lecture-based presentation on the material. All students were then administered a multiple-choice quiz and the results indicated that students who experienced the multimedia module performed no better and no worse on the quiz when compared with those who experienced the traditional lecture. Weinberger developed a multimedia lecture/textbook to help students learn fundamental concepts of transport phenomena.4 Twenty-eight engineering students used the lecture/textbook in additional to traditional lecture and performed significantly

Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ©2001, American Society for Engineering Education

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Hailey, D., & Hailey, C. (2001, June), Thermodynamic Cycles A Multimedia, Independent Study Course Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9900