Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ollis, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

BaseAbstractA “device dissection” laboratory, based initially on light driven devices, was conceivedand realized in the early 1990s as a means of introducing new engineering students to thefield of engineering1. The varieties of summer and semester engineering uses for thisfacility were summarized in an earlier paper2 of related title “A Lab for All Seasons, ALab for All Reasons.” The present paper, “A Lab for All Reasons, A Lab for AllSeasons: Enlarging the Participant Base,” extends utilization of our engineeringlaboratory to non-engineering faculty and to non-engineering students. The first of thesenewer forays involves utilization of the lab as an enrichment adjunct to courses taught inother non-engineering departments, here with examples from

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Camille George, University of St. Thomas; Elise Amel, University of Saint Thomas; Christopher Greene, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

substances should be approached prudently. This paperdescribes two hands-on activities that elucidate this common and influential technology. Bothactivities can be used in a standard, undergraduate engineering laboratory or in a technologyliteracy course that fulfills the common science with lab requirement in a liberal arts program.In one activity, laboratory refrigeration trainers, instrumented with thermocouples and pressuregages, are connected to laptop computers programmed with a graphical interface. Easilyunderstandable graphics enable the visualization of the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics. Therequired work input, the relationship of energy transfer through phase-change and the principalsof heat transfer all come alive by manipulating

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Oakley, Oakland University; Lorenzo Smith, Oakland University; Yin-ping (Daniel) Chang, Oakland University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

the category of outreach to humanities and liberal arts students.Courses specifically designated for teachers in the course description were not Page 12.1478.4included in the table. Additionally, laboratory courses were not included in the table,since these courses were almost always affiliated with another class and includingthem would have artificially boosted the enrollment numbers.DiscussionAfter analyzing the thirty universities, thirty-seven general education physics coursesdesigned primarily for non-science majors were found to have enrollments totaling5,711 students. This contrasted with only four commonly taught engineeringoutreach courses

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

Hope College engineering majors do nottake general physics in the first year, the introduction to engineering course must teachcritical prerequisite information students need before enrolling in solid mechanics andelectronics. The course has two lectures and one 3 hour laboratory per week for 14 weeks.Details of this course have been described by Krupczak et al. [20]. Table 2. contains alisting of the major course topics in introduction to engineering at Hope College.MechanicsIn the mechanics section of the course students learn the concepts of vectors, forces, free-body diagram, static equilibrium, stress, strain, Hooke’s Law and stress-strain diagrams

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

AnnMarie Thomas, University of Saint Thomas; Mark Breitenberg, Art Center College of Design

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

engineering laboratories and encouraged to correspond withscientists and researchers while working on their final projects. Something as seeminglyinsignificant as a post field-trip luncheon with a group of engineers has been reported as ahighlight of this course.Course Development and HistoryThe “Nature’s Designs” course was taught at Art Center College of Design by Dr.Thomas for 4 semesters (Fall 2004, Spring 2005, Summer 2005, and Fall 2005). It is anelective course which fulfills part of the science requirement that all degree-seekingstudents must complete. The course is based on one developed at MIT by Dr. Thomas,while she was an undergraduate, and Professors Triantafyllou and Yue. The MIT classwas designed as an introduction to the concept of

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Blake, Austin Peay State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

the primary instructor for our introductorycourse for freshmen entering our program. The mission of our introductory course for newmajors has some things in common with the mission of a course introducing engineering andtechnology to non-majors.Others have been down the same path and have reported on their experiences in developingcourses and attracting students.4, 5; 8-14 The content, approach, and level of existing courses vary.Some institutions have accepted the course into the general core to meet natural sciencerequirements. Many courses focus on how things work and include laboratory components. Thecourse discussed in depth by David Ollis8, 9, 10 evolved from a device dissection course for firstyear engineering students, and has a

Conference Session

Technology Literacy for Non-Engineers

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lawrence Whitman, Wichita State University; James Steck, Wichita State University; David Koert, Wichita State University; Larry Paarmann, Wichita State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

., 2000, A multidisciplinary team project for electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science majors.8) Brockman, J., Batill, S., Renaud, J., Kantor, J., Kirkner, D., Kogge, P., and Stevenson, R., 1996, "Development of a multidisciplinary engineering design laboratory at the University of Notre Dame." Proc. of the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference.9) Otto, K., Bezdek, J., Wood, K., Jensen, D., and Murphy, M., 1998, "Building better mousetrap builders: Courses to incrementally and systematically teach design," Proc. of the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference.10) Garcia, M.A., and Patterson-McNeill, H., 2002, "Learn how to develop software using the toy Lego