Conference Session

Student Learning, Problem Solving, and Critical Thinking 1

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey A. Davis, Grant MacEwan University; Shelley Lorimer, Grant MacEwan University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

student assessment techniques as well as looking at the socio- economic sustainability of educational institutions.Dr. Shelley Lorimer P.Eng., Grant MacEwan University Dr. Shelley Lorimer, P.Eng. is Chair of the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Transfer Program (BSEN) at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. She teaches undergraduate courses in statics and dynamics, as well as courses in engineering professionalism. She is currently participating in a research project with Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures in the oil sands and hydrocarbon recovery group doing reservoir simulation of enhanced oil recovery processes. She has a Ph.D. in numerical modeling from the University of Alberta, also in Edmonton

Conference Session

K-12 and Pre-College Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Denson, North Carolina State University; Matthew D. Lammi, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

interim, researchers andeducators can look toward the National Research Council and the National Assessment ofEducational Progress (NAEP) for guiding principles to help in identifying age-appropriateknowledge and skill benchmarks. As instructors consider the type of engineering challenges tointroduce (open-ended or well-structured), identifying student competencies at certain points onthe continuum from novice to expert designer will be key in sequencing the engineering designexperience 19.Selecting Engineering Design ChallengesWhen strictly speaking of engineering design as a process and not the content that accompaniesthis subject, problem (or project) based learning (PBL) is the most widely accepted pedagogicalapproach to teaching design 4, 20

Conference Session

Continuing Professional Development Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Olivia S. Anderson, University of Michigan; Cynthia Finelli, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

and adults, and was a GSI at U-M for two En- vironmental Health Sciences courses. At CRLT, she is involved in education research, assessment and evaluation projects, and various professional development programs for students and faculty.Dr. Cynthia Finelli, University of Michigan Dr. Cynthia Finelli is Director of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching Engineering and research associate professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. She actively pursues research in engineering education and assists other faculty at U-M in their scholarly endeavors. Her current research interests include studying faculty motivation to change classroom practices, evalu- ating methods to improve

Conference Session

Ocean and Marine Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lifford McLauchlan, Texas A&M University, Kingsville; Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi

Tagged Divisions

Ocean and Marine

, A. Mense, and H. Wahl, “How to Motivate Students in Project Based Learning,” 6th IEEE Africon Conference in Africa, vol. 1, pp. 443-446, Oct. 2-4, 2002.7. L. McLauchlan, M. Mehrubeoglu, and J. Durham, “Problem Based Learning Through Modeling and Simulation of Unmanned Vehicles,” ASEE Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, June 23-26, 2013.8. L. McLauchlan, Control of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) – Sea Fox, Lab Assignment for the Senior Course Linear Control Systems, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 2013.9. L. McLauchlan, Path Planning Control Using Potential Fields, Lab Assignment for the Senior Course Linear

Conference Session

Teaching and Assessment Methodologies

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Juan Song, Alamo College

Tagged Divisions

Manufacturing

Academy (ATMA), First Robotics, Pre-Freshman Engineering Program (PREP), Project Lead the Way (PLTW)  Must pass illegal drug test.The admission to the AMT program is highly competitive. All the candidates were firstcontacted via a telephone interview and qualified candidates were further followed up by onsiteinterview during campus visit. Finally, Finally 20 applicants were selected to be enrolled intothis current program started from Fall 2013.General Program InformationAs described earlier, the AMT program’s goal included: (1) educate students about advancedmanufacturing technologies needed in manufacturing field with cutting-edge curriculum; (2)educate students soft skills, including interpersonal, communication, and natural

Conference Session

Program and Curriculum Design Initiatives

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marilyn Barger P.E., FLATE (Florida Advanced Technological Education Center of Excellence); Richard Gilbert, University of South Florida; Marie A. Boyette, FLATE; Deshjuana Bagley

Tagged Divisions

Manufacturing

Center of Excellence for Advanced Technological Education in Florida, FLATE. FLATE, now in its 10 year of op- eration, addresses curriculum, professional development, and outreach issues to support the creation of Florida’s technical workforce. Richard has over 30 years of experience working with the K-14 education community. Other funded efforts include projects for the NIH and the US Department of Education. The latter was for the development of an engineering curriculum for elementary school applications. The for- mer is for development of electric field mediated drug and gene applicators and protocols. This effort has generated over 20 patents and protocols currently in Phase II trials.Dr. Marie A. Boyette, FLATE

Conference Session

Mechanical Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matt Gordon P.E., University of Denver; Bradley S. Davidson, University of Denver; Corinne Shirley Lengsfeld, University of Denver

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

manufacturing capacity of the MME facilities, and incorporates a hands-onexperience of both undergraduate and graduate students.Our changes impact students throughout the curriculum. First year students work in teams ofthree to design a small projectile launching device equivalent to a child’s toy. Teams workthrough innovation and design processes of problem identification, goal setting, research,prototyping, evaluation, and reflection. Labs during the quarter provide students skills in solidmodeling and projectile motion and design documentation, but the final project requires them tosynthesize these lessons into a single product. Students design the device virtually inSolidWorks, evaluating assembly issues of contact interference and can conduct

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Morrow Nissenson, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Jaehoon Seong, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Chuan-Chiang Chen, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Peter A. Dashner, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Angela C. Shih, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

at Cal Poly Pomona, covering topics such as kinematics of particles, kinetics ofparticles, kinematics of rigid bodies, and kinetics of rigid bodies within a 10-week academic term.The rapid pace of the course means there often is not enough time to go through a sufficientnumber of examples in the classroom. The project discussed in this paper was intended to helpremedy these problems, ultimately increasing the retention rate of engineering students throughimprovements in their academic performance in Vector Dynamics.The authors created video tutorials and virtual simulations to help students visualize dynamicsconcepts, as well as relate the theory and math to engineering problems.1) The video tutorials were created for topics that students

Conference Session

Engineering Faculty: Interactions, Influences and Issues

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Geoffrey Brown, University of Michigan; David B Knight, Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

shown in Table 3. The scales we selected for this analysis wereincluded because they represent active learning and student centered teaching strategies. Table 3. Dependent variable scales with item components. The Cronbach’s alpha indicates the internal consistency reliability. Hands-on activities/assignments In-class, small-group learning Student-Centered Group projects Teaching (alpha=.70) In-class discussions Reverse-engineering exercises Case studies/real-world

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division Technical Session 6

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kurt A. Thoroughman, Washington University; Alessandra Hruschka, Washington University in St.Louis; Patricia Widder, Washington University in St. Louis

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

discussions within their teams of six and dissectthe published material; explore the computational model; and examine the discussion questions.Each freshmen team is visited by an online mentor, upperclassmen who serve as part-time TAs,to help foster a local community of scholars, both pushed and supported to complement theirdeep foundational study with broader, integrative consideration. The fall sophomore semesterhas more student freedom in which they pursue a larger, self-guided project. Each module endswith the team “leader” (a rotating position) of a particular module posting the highlights of teamdiscussion to a course-wide board.EVS KEEN ModulesEVS KEEN Modules (4 in total) follow the basic EVS module structure, but add interaction withan

Conference Session

Sustainability and Hands-on Engineering Education

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bradley A. Striebig, James Madison University; Stephen Keith Holland, James Madison University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

science and energy resources is shown in Table1.Table 1: Sample participant schedule for Green Techfacturing three-day camp. Day Timing Activity1 Early morning Check-in Introductions Describe “green” manufacturing Late morning Tour facility with renewable biofuel power plant, solvent recovery and reuse, and wastewater treatment Early Afternoon Environmental Science Project at University Pond and Arboretum Late Afternoon Discussion of days learning activities Review

Conference Session

Student Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelly Patsavas; Barrett S. Caldwell, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Student

thestudent at the time, this seemed like a monotonous task of moving documents and sorting thembased on research topics. But after completing the project, the student realized that this was aneffective way of transferring the basic knowledge about how research papers are written, how todistinguish the overall message from a paper, etc. This was a way of transferring the basicknowledge about research, which cannot easily be described, that an undergraduate studentwould not know.The undergraduate classroom and textbook model does not allow for tacit knowledgemanagement because it follows an explicit model. The knowledge is transferred on paper orverbally to the student and the student is expected to learn and be able to reproduce theknowledge at a

Conference Session

Student-Centered Information Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kerrie A Douglas, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Ruth E. H. Wertz, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Michael Fosmire, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Senay Purzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Amy S. Van Epps, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

expertengineers for the purpose of reducing the time needed to become a highly effective engineer. Inparticular, Atman and colleagues have added substantially to this knowledge base throughresearch comparing students to experienced engineers. Atman and colleagues synthesized theirresearch and described four areas where differences are most notable: (1) problem scoping andinformation gathering, (2) project realization, (3) considering alternative solutions, and (4) totaltime and transitions.9In regard to problem scoping and information gathering, Atman and colleagues found severaldifferences between first-year students, more advanced engineering students, and experiencedengineers.9 For example, first-year students are not as effective as seniors in

Conference Session

Continuing Professional Development Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pradeep Kashinath Waychal, College of Engineering Pune, Innovation Centre

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

management to allow us to introduce the facultyreward system and to analyze that. We also acknowledge Mr. Abhay Joshi for reviewing allthe early manuscripts of the paper and bringing it to this level. We also would like to thankthe All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for funding of the project onEffective Employability – that has made possible this study and the paper. Page 24.182.8References1 Patrick T. Terenzini Lisa R. Lattuca, and J. Fredricks Volkwein, 'Engineering Change: A Study of the Impact of EC2000', (ABET, Inc, 2006).2 EDWARD L. DECI, 'The Effects of Contingent and Noncontingent Rewards and Controls on Intrinsic

Conference Session

Information and Network Security

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jane LeClair, National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College; Denise Pheils, National Cybersecurity Institute

Tagged Divisions

Computing & Information Technology

. Pheils holds 21 certifications including the CISSP and PMP, and bringing many years of relevant and current work and research into cybersecurity topics. To provide hands-on experience to cybersecurity learners she piloted the Community Project Approach to Teaching Network- ing and Cybersecurity Topics that partners classes with not-for-profits in the community to accomplish tasks and secure that organization. She is a Fellow with the National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College. Page 24.196.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014Are We Prepared: Issues

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Pedagogy and Innovation

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip J. Parker P.E., University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Ben Bocher, University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Austin Polebitski, University of Wisconsin Platteville

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Paper ID #8972Assessing Student Writing Competencies in Environmental Engineering CoursesDr. Philip J. Parker P.E., University of Wisconsin, PlattevilleDr. Ben Bocher, University of Wisconsin, Platteville Over the past ten years, Ben’s work in environmental engineering has focused on anaerobic biotechnolo- gies. His projects have included studying the effects of anaerobic digester configuration on methane pro- duction rates, examining digestion of secondary residuals from brewery wastewater to enhance bioenergy generation, investigating the relationship between microbial community structure and digester perfor

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jumoke Oluwakemi Ladeji-Osias, Morgan State University; Anita M. Wells, Morgan State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

 individuals.● A student in Dr. May’s online course just complained to her that it was not fair that other students are texting each other for help during their online quizzes.● The student Dr. Lin is advising for the senior capstone project provided some new source­code that seems impossible to have been completed since their code review last week.● Dr. West, a newly hired assistant professor had a male student who was openly defiant and disrespectful to her in class. Another student comes to her defense and a scuffle ensues.● A student in Mr. Singh’s course just posted in the online discussion a response to another student that included threats of violence. Additionally, some portions of the post appeared to be unrelated.● A student comes to

Conference Session

Preparing Minority Students for Undergraduate and Graduate Research

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lorraine N. Fleming, Howard University; Silas E. Burris, Howard University; Kalynda Chivon Smith, Howard University; Leonard Bernard Bliss; Inez N. Moore, Howard University; Fabiana Bornmann

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

, Howard University Silas E. Burris is third year Developmental/Experimental Psychology doctoral student at Howard Univer- sity. His research interests include the development of cognitive and comprehension processes in children from underrepresented populations, narrative comprehension processing, narrative media types, and the external validity of psychological research.Dr. Kalynda Chivon Smith, Howard University Howard University in Washington, D.C., and her B.A. in Psychology and English from Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. Dr. Smith has managed a three year longitudinal NSF-funded research project across four campuses, which has included collecting, analyzing/interpreting and reporting data through

Conference Session

Construction Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ifte Choudhury, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Construction

, developed by theNational Renewable Energy Laboratory8.SAM is a performance and economic model designed to facilitate decision making forpeople involved in the renewable energy industry. The software makes performancepredictions for grid-connected solar systems, small wind and geothermal power systems,and economic estimates for distributed energy and central generation projects. It calculatesthe cost of generating electricity based on information provided about a project's location,installation and operating costs, type of financing, applicable tax credits and incentives,and system specifications. SAM also calculates the value of saved energy due to the use of

Conference Session

New Teaching Pedagogies: Methods and Assessments

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Cavalli, University of North Dakota; Jeremiah J. Neubert, University of North Dakota; Dustin McNally, University of North Dakota; Debbie Jacklitch-Kuiken

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics

criteria, and  Work in groups to solve complex problems.Objectives are achieved using a series of demonstrations followed by hands-on activities thatrequire students to utilize a specific set of tools in the drafting software over the first ten weeksof the course. The remaining time is dedicated to an open-ended project that requires groups ofstudents to design a mechanism to solve an engineering problem. The problem includes a set ofconstraints that must be navigated to be successful. Students are also asked to produce the partdrawings needed to construct the mechanism and use the drawings to create a prototype.ENGR 200The objective of this course is to produce students that can:  Create software to solve engineering problems using both

Conference Session

Changing the Classroom Environment in Mathematics Education

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rebecca Bourn, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy; Sarah C. Baxter, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

Mathematics

-EFFECTS.Math-EFFECT #1Core Concept: EstimationContext: Gather information to design an HVAC system for open air courtyard.Decision Worksheet - Driving Questions: What would be the “cost” of the HVAC system? Howdoes one provide an accurate but relatively quick estimate for a project?Active Learning Modules:  Lecture on statistical metrics; upper and lower bounds;  Have students measure the length of hallways using estimated measures of feet, wing- span and stride; calculate ensemble statistical metrics;  Guess and discuss the dimensions of common objects; ceiling and floor tiles; square footage in classroom;  Actual on-site estimations of the size of the open air courtyard.Reflection:  How accurate are `back of the

Conference Session

Materials Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yakov E. Cherner, ATEL, LLC; Maija M. Kuklja, University of Maryland College Park; Alexander Rudy, Institute of Physics and Technology of RAS, Yaroslavl Branch

Tagged Divisions

Materials

forsimple adjustments and can be readily adapted to any US and foreign university curricula andvarious education systems.AcknowledgementsAuthors are grateful to MIT Professors Dr. Michael Cima and Dr. Linn Hobs for discussingstudent assessment tasks using virtual labs. This research project is in part supported by the USDepartment of State and National Science Foundation.Funding provided by the U.S. Department of State within the Peer-To-Peer Dialog program(Award #SRS50013GR206) allowed us to develop the Russian version of the v-Lab and facilitatethe collaboration between US and Russian faculty and students. One of the authors is thankful tothe Office of the Director of NSF for support under the IRD program. Any appearance offindings, conclusions

Conference Session

Focus on African-American and Hispanic Engineering Students’ Professional and Academic Development

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Noemi V. Mendoza Diaz, University Corporation for the Development of Internet-Mexico

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

Methods ASEE Division in 2009. She also has been an Electrical Engineering Professor for two Mex- ican universities. She is interested in pre-college and college engineering readiness, socioeconomically disadvantaged engineering students, and computer aided engineering instruction. Page 24.668.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014 Hispanics in Engineering: A Review of the Literature Hispanics or Latinos is one of the minority groups projected to grow its representation inthe most dramatic way; from 15% to more than 30% by 2050. As it is known, currentdemographic

Conference Session

Engineering and Public Policy Division Technical Session 1: In the Classroom

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reza Kamali, Utah Valley University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

regulation, technical data and EMC analysis. All students who wantto study in the field of wireless communications should end their study by learning thesefundamentals. This study provides enough knowledge to make a frequency application plan,which is acceptable for licensing. For example in coverage measurement Okumura and Hatamodels are described. Some part of current topics can not only be the added to the courses Page 24.712.2related to radio frequency but they can also be studied with courses such as capstone project andethics10,11.Unauthorized use of frequency channels not only risks the privacy of licensed users but alsoendanger the life of

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amber L. Genau, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

-residential program, so students areresponsible for their own transportation to and from campus each day. And exampleschedule of a camp week is shown in Appendix A. During the course of the program,participants experience a variety of tours, speakers, hands-on activities, and field trips. Alarge component of the week is a group project where teams of students design, build andlaunch a model rocket made from high-tech engineering composites. During all of theseactivities, camp participants are able to interact with faculty, graduate and undergraduatestudents, and representatives of local industry. Images of the campers in action are shownin Figures 1 and 2. Additional information about the first year of the program can befound in the 2012 paper by

Conference Session

International Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Audra N. Morse, Texas Tech University

Tagged Divisions

International

individually, via information sessions and orientations on:  Alumni’s request that our students have more international exposure when entering the work force.  How highly skilled workers are at the fore-front of the global economy and are requested by their employers to take on international assignments and projects at a higher rate than lower skilled workers.  How engineering is a global and diverse discipline. Even if graduates are based in the US they will likely be working on an international team.  How the challenges of studying, working or volunteering internationally will lead to increased independence, maturity and perspective.A big part of student motivation is peer outreach. The Director of

Conference Session

Computer Hardware

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark A. Hopkins, Rochester Institute of Technology (KGCOE); Alexander Michael Kibbe, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

they have installed the student version of Matlab. Many of them have done that. Feedback about the lab from students, including official course evaluations, has been almostuniformly positive, which we attribute largely to the fact that many students consider the Arduinoto be something like state-of-the-art, want to know more about it, and feel that this lab gives themgood exposure to it. Another major factor in student satisfaction is that on the relatively rareoccasions when technical problems do arise, they are fairly easy to understand and to fix. Severalstudents have gone on to use the Arduino in other projects, such as Senior Capstone projects.References[1] D. Wilcher, “Physical Computing and DC Motor Control” in Learn Electronics

Conference Session

NSF Grantees’ Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Garret Nicodemus, University of Colorado, Boulder; John L. Falconer, University of Colorado Boulder; Will Medlin, University of Colorado, Boulder; Katherine Page McDanel, Dept Chemical & Biological Engineering University of Colorado Boulder; Janet L. de Grazia, University of Colorado, Boulder; James K. Ferri, Lafayette College; Christopher R. Anderson, Lafayette College; Michael Senra, Lafayette College

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

mentored related senior design projects. He led product development at Targeson, Inc., a start-up company where he developed targeted contrast agents for ultrasound imaging of tumor growth. He earned his and M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia, where his research focused on the molecular mechanisms of blood vessel growth, and he earned his B.S. in chemical engineering from Bucknell University.Michael Senra, Lafayette College Page 24.1073.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014 Screencasts for Enhancing Chemical

Conference Session

K-12 and Pre-College Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tess Anne Hegedus, The University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Heidi B. Carlone, The University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Aundrea D. Carter, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, and school: Making sense of difference. Science Education, 95(5), 824-851.2. Carlone, H. B., Scott, C. M., & Lowder, C. (In Press). Becoming (less) scientific: A longitudinal study of students’ identity work from elementary to middle school science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching.3. Carlone, H. B., Webb, A., Archer, L., & Taylor, M. (In Preparation). What kind of a boy does science? A critical perspective on the science trajectories of four scientifically talented boys.4. Cunningham, C. M., Lachapelle, C. P., & Hertel, J. (2012). Research and evaluation results for the Engineering is Elementary project: An executive summary of the first eight years. Boston, MA: Museum of Science.5. National

Conference Session

Data Analytics in Education

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hon Jie Teo, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

thread-based online discussion forums. Overall, the study providesevidence that interaction dynamics between the learners based in their discussion roles is acritical consideration in evaluating the quality of interaction in online engineering communities.IntroductionWith the exponential growth of information communication technologies, researchers andpolicymakers have coalesced around the use of technology to advance learning opportunities inand beyond the formal educational institutions1. Their projections and vision are essential as thecurrent generation of students are highly proficient with using computers and have learninghabits that are associated with the frequent use of the Internet2. Online communities represent anavenue for these