Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

John M. Santiago; Jing Guo

2016 ASEE Rocky Mountain Section Conference A System Engineering Approach for Implementing An Electrical or Computer Engineering Master’s Capstone Course John M. Santiago, Jr., Ph.D. and Jing Guo, D.Eng. Colorado Technical University (CTU), College of Engineering Colorado Springs, COAbstractThe paper presents how an electrical or computer engineering Master’s capstone courseincorporates system engineering concepts. The project in the capstone course attempts toprovide a balance among technical merit, system-level thinking, and improved communicationskills. The student has an opportunity to integrate

Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Angela R. Bielefeldt; Daniel Knight; Christopher Swan; Nathan Canney

courses; over 1100 survey responses were received. Over 50% of therespondents taught students about professional practice issues and the societal impacts ofengineering and technology in one or more of their courses; only 12% did not include any topicsrelated to social or ethical issues in their courses. Faculty most commonly reported teachingthese topics in senior capstone design (41%); 30% also taught these issues in graduate levelcourses. The majority of the respondents felt that both undergraduate and graduate studenteducation on these issues was not adequate (67% and 80%, respectively).KeywordsEthics; societal impacts; sustainability.BackgroundThere is general consensus that engineers need to perform their duties in an ethical manner

Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

John M. Santiago; Jing Guo

can also include demonstrations of real-world applications. Forexample, in the capstone design courses and projects, students can use relatively inexpensivemicrocontrollers such as Arduino, Raspberry PI, and Beaglebone to serve as complementaryhardware with the myDAQ from National Instruments. These affordable microcontrollers havebeen investigated or used by past student group projects. Instructors can also use myDAQ andthe microcontrollers to demonstrate key concepts found in circuit analysis and electronicscourses. To further promote user engagement, any student questions raised from the interactiveand multimedia content can be addressed in the online and required interactive chat sessions.From an online perspective, synchronous delivery

Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Jing Guo; Kathy Kasley; John M. Santiago

classroom.Keywordsengineering lab, online flipped lab, online laboratory experiments, flipped classroom,introduction to engineeringIntroductionFaculty members in the Colorado Technical University College of Engineering started to developonline courses since April of 2015. Because the undergraduate degrees in electrical engineeringand computer engineering at CTU are ABET-accredited, the online courses that need to bedeveloped have to meet ABET standards as well. In addition, the courses must meet the samelearning outcomes whether delivered online or traditional face-to-face instruction. This paperpresents faculty experiences in developing and conducting engineering laboratory experiences tobe completed remotely for an online course. The project attempts to convert a

Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Clifton B. Farnsworth; Evan Bingham; Justin E. Weidman

-course collegeprogram. These other courses included China megastructures7,8, China megacities, and Chinamegawater, each course focusing on a different discipline within the context of the same studyabroad trip. This integration included a culminating design project that required the constructionmanagement and civil engineering students to work together on the initial design of a skyscraper,including the tentative cost, scheduling, and conceptual design renderings. Key course elementsfor this study abroad program included China, mega, ideas and innovation, sustainability,teamwork and leadership, global awareness, character development, and technical excellence.These will be discussed in greater detail later in this paper.Part I: Course

Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Jackson J. Graham; Randy C. Hurd; Tadd T. Truscott

necessary prerequisite courses and student confidence in their ownunderstanding, we feel it safe to assume that students have already been exposed to two-dimensional heat transfer and have a reasonable understanding of the material.Questions three, four, and eight focus on whether the lab provided students with an increasedunderstanding of two-dimensional heat transfer and a greater ability to visualize the process.Students generally agreed with this notion, especially in terms of visualization. Additionally, inquestion five, students generally agree that participating in a numerical and experimental heattransfer project was more instructional than a similar project performed on paper. Questions 6and 7 indicate that the lab setting not only helped

Collection

2016 Rocky Mountain Section Conference

Authors

Jing Guo; John M. Santiago

addressing lab questions. Four full-time faculty createdmultimedia content and follow-up exercises for assessment of student learning outcomes. Duringthe asynchronous lab session, students are required to read the lab instructions and watch shortvideos before beginning the lab exercise or project. A pilot class simulates the online course withthe newly developed content. The flipped classroom method shows promise based on studentfeedback and comparing student learning outcomes between the pilot class and the face-to-facecourse. The feedback from student surveys is discussed as well as suggested improvements ofonline course instruction.KeywordsOnline, Flipped Classroom, Short Videos, Adaptive LearningIntroductionCTU is a private for-profit university