Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Maria Gini

Session 1626 Learning Computer Science Through Robotics Maria Gini University of M i n n e s o t a The main purpose of this paper is to describe how we are integrating in our undergraduate curriculuma variety of projects in robotics and describe, in particular, an undergraduate project that culminatedat the robot competition at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in August 1995.This is part of a large effort aimed at exposing undergraduate students to a variety of projects in robotics,computer vision, and 3D modeling. We have

Conference Session

Hands-on Approach to Teaching: Computers (3532)

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Ruth D. Fogg, United States Air Force Academy; George W. P. York, United States Air Force Academy

Proceedingsschematics showing each chip and wire used in VISICOMP. A series of three lab exercises gives the studentpractice running the computer in all three operating modes. ResultsAt the end of the course, we solicited for feedback and in general the results were very favorable. Thestudents were intimidated by VISICOMP at first. Having to learn assembly language programming at thesame time as trying to sort out the details of VISICOMP was tough for many. But being able to view thecontents of each register and all the control signals simultaneously made understanding how a computer worksa simple matter of interpreting the registers contents and comparing it to what was expected. Moreover, afterlearning to

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Hussein M. Yaghi

inservice and preservice. How can teachers be expected to use CBI, CAI and teach computer skills if they do not know how to use computer. In fact, there are schools in the country who became aware of this problem and started training all their teachers on different computer skills. Also there are universities that started to teach specialized computer education courses and we may witness the establishment of specialized complete computer education programs at some of the countries universities and teacher training colleges. The third basic remark was that the time allotted for computer education activities was too short. The frequency of using the computers as support devices in teaching and learning different

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Daryl R. Kipke

Session 2309 Computer Applications in Bioengineering: An Active-Learning Laboratory Course for Undergraduates Daryl R. Kipke Arizona State UniversityIntroduction Bioengineering is a diverse field that bridges several traditional engineering disciplines to medicine andbiology. In competing for bioengineering-related jobs with peers from traditional engineering disciplines, theB.S.-level bioengineer should have particular knowledge and experience about making measurements from oranalyzing

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

William E. Barnes; Michael Khader

Session 2358Computer Supported, Interactive Distance Learning for Engineering and Engineering Technology Michael Khader William E. Barnes New Jersey Institute of TechnologyABSTRACT Many educators agree that integrating interactive modes of delivery into distance education willsignificantly enhance the education experience for students and instructors. Most modes of deliveringdistance education classes today are asynchronous (recorded materials), and one way synchronouscommunications (cable TV classes, satellite link

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Winston F. Erevelles

Session 3263 Experiential Learning in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Through Team Projects Winston F. Erevelles GMI Engineering& Management InstituteAbstract The paper describes projects undertaken by student teams in a senior level course in ComputerIntegrated Manufacturing. Students generate concepts for a product, synthesize this concept into multipledesign alternatives, select the most feasible design based on manufacturability and assemblabilityconsiderations, manufacture the product on CNC machines in the CIM Laboratory, develop solutions

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Jo Ann Parikh

extensions for Distributed Programming) provided support forlaboratory assignments in distributed memory parallelism and Parallaxis for assignments in dataparallel programming. 4. Laboratory Assignments This section contains a description of sample assignments which have been given to students incourses on data structures, operating systems, and programming languages. These projects weredesigned to help the students internalize important concepts in parallel and distributed computing andgain practical experience in the implementation of these concepts. The laboratories emphasize anexploratory, discovery-based learning approach.4.1 Data Structures Assignment The data structures assignment uses the

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert J. O'Neill; Robert M. Henry; Thomas Lenox

language used in the course was immaterial to the respondents. The reasonFORTRAN is preferred is that it has an historical basis. Many feel that its syntax is easier to learn than thatfor C or C++. The idea that learning a programming language is not as important as other computer-relatedskills is further illustrated in Table 3. Note the downward movement in the ranking of programming, and theemergence of equation solvers by the academic community. Page 1.378.3 1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings Word Processor Spreadsheets Database50

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Philip J. Morris; Martin L. Brady; Lyle N. Long; Ali Haghighat

examples and computer code demonstrations are used. The principal developer of thecourse is Dr. Lyle Long. The goals of the course are to teach the student to: 1. understand the differences between current parallel computers Intel Paragon, Cray T3D, CM-5, KSR, nCUBE, IBM SP-2, etc. SIMD and MIMD paradigms Message passing and data parallel architectures Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) 2. effectively map a wide range of algorithms onto parallel computers 3. understand parallel processing performance 4. learn language features for parallel (especially FORTRAN 90)The students participate in four program development projects. Each project requires the writing of acomputer program to solve a particular problem and a report that

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

R. Welch; K.R. Goheen

1 ---- Session#: 3525 Pedagogical and Cost Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Learning in Control Systems Education R. Welch, K.R. Goheen Ingenia Communications Corporation/Ryerson Polytechnic UniversityAbstract This study examines the use of courseware to teach feedback control systems material to undergraduatemechanical and aerospace engineering students. Courseware for teaching the frequency

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Emil C. Neu

material covered.This can be accomplished by reducing the amount of writing by the professor and copying by the students.Specifically, it is recognized that copying complex diagrams, computer programs, and lengthy equations andtext diverts both the professor and the student from the task of teaching and learning. Therefore, technologyshould be employed to eliminate this copying, while retaining the type of note taking that is vital to learning andthe retention of knowledge. Secondly, what is expected in the classroom should be changed by modi@ing the classroomenvironment. If every classroom has only a blackboard, it is not surprising that most instructors will use theblackboard. On the other hand, if every classroom is equipped with an

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert O. Harger

self-selection of course material, self-pacing and group activity; diverse .backgrounds and learning styles may be better accommodated The interactive book, computer classroom, effective learning methods, student evaluations and fitureplans will be discussed. The Interactive Book Embedding mathematical models directly in a fill-featured mathematical programming language unitesthe powerful learning tools of mathematical abstraction and symbolization with visualization and trial and errorexperimentation. There are perhaps a dozen attributes that one would evaluate in choosing a mathematicalprogramming language for teaching

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Parker; Walter Buchanan

technicaleducation a firmer, more concrete syllabus, the lecture room and the laboratory environment must be redesignedto encourage the teacher to pause at any time and ask the students to prove a point for themselves by using thelab stations at which they are sitting. This allows students who are kinesthetic learners (those who learn bydoing), the opportunity to learn at the same time as the oral learners. The pull comes from the fact that powerful computer simulation software, designed initially in thesixties, is now available to run on garden variety personal computers. The user interface has been improved tothe point that first year students with little or no prior experience with computers can easily run these packageswith only short

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Ph.D., M. Zoghi

this point they are introduced to the computer facility which includeseveral PC and workstation laboratories and learn how to use the electronic mail and word processing. In thefollowing semester, they are required to take a computer drawing course in which they are taught the basicsof descriptive geometry and various CAD packages. During the sophomore year, structured programminglogic is reviewed in a course called CPS 132. Subsequently, the computer applications in civil engineeringare covered as part of an introductory course titled civil engineering computation laboratory, CIE 220. Inthis course, other programming routines such as BASIC and spread sheet are covered. Also, the students are

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Samuel O. Osisanya

analysis, cornmunicatio~ creativity and visualization.. Valuable to employers.Thus, the advantages of computer usage in the first year introductory engineering course were identified as follow:. Early introduction of computers to the students is beneficial since computers are the new tools for engineers.. It provides a systematic way of solving engineering problems.. It is good for data storage and retrieval.● It enables simulation of engineering problems (i.e. to play “what if”).● Students are cotiortable in front of screens.● It is a marketable skill for the students.● Two other advantages were identified by this author while teaching. One is that more time can bedevoted to more complex problems and thus increase the amount of learning that goes

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

N. A. Pendergrass

activities during class, the classroom was equippedwith 16 personal computers so that 32 students could work in teams of two. The layout of the room wasmodeled after what has been done at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for introductory physics classes withintegrated classroom and laboratory activity [9]. In addition, active group learning methods were adopted usingtechniques similar to those published by Karl Smith [10]. The use of active, group learning methods were animportant contributor to successful student activities in this course. Projects and Interactive Class Activities Interactive activities on the simulator enhanced group learning and about one in five classroom problemsused the computers

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert L. Drake; Ottis L. Barron; J. Douglas Sterrett

theperiod. Throughout the course, the students submitted all of their computer assignments on both diskette andpaper. During the word processing portion of the course the students were introduced to the generalprocesses for formatting text and writing memos, letters and reports. The students learned to format tabulardata and to import ASCII ties into data tables. A short time was spent introducing the student to theequation and picture editing fictions. Typical laboratory assignments were to complete exercises from thetextbook module in which they would write letters and memos which included tables and/or equations. Two laboratory sessions were spent on spreadsheet analysis. The basic concepts were introduced withemphasis on the use of

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Laura L. Lisiecki

degrees in manufacturing engineering. The new curriculum is not based on traditionalclassroom experiences, but on computer based instruction combined with experiential learning. Together with thesix coalition universities, the Center for Advanced Technologies (C.A.T. ) at Focus: HOPE in Detroit provides astate-of-the art manufacturing facility for student-candidates to gain engineering knowledge within the context ofan industrial environment. The C.A.T. provides both case studies and projects for the candidates to investigateduring the course of their education. The curriculum for these degrees was divided into several broad knowledgeareas, one of which was the engineering materials knowledge area. The engineering materials knowledge areawas

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael V. Doran; Herbert E. Longenecker; David L. Feinstein; David D. Langan

Implementation D of Computing Curricula 1991. The distinguishing features are:(1) materials based on a strategic sequencing and the associated Bloom level of mastery of key topics, (2)topical coverage carefully based on a spiral approach to information presentation, (3) integral use of structuredlabs as a necessary component of the course, (4) an emphasis on frequent feedback to facilitate learning and toevaluate the effectiveness of instruction, (5) an early use of teams, (6) a student surveying tool used to track allstudents to provide outcome assessment, and (7) review and evaluation by multiple institutions for iterativematerial refinement and national dissemination. A preliminary on-site evaluation, by a team of five consultantswith expertise in

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Stephen J. Ressler

I Session 1668 The Visual Stress Transformer: An Animated Computer Graphics Program for Engineering Mechanics Education Stephen J. Ressler United States Military Academy State of stress at a point. Stress transformation. Maximum principal stresses. Mohr’s Circle. These topics often strike fear in the hearts of

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Steven M. Click; Jr., John W. Baugh; Joseph E. Hummer; Bhavani P. Konuru

, questions on the efficiency of CBI remain.INTRODUCTION Educators have long considered using computer-based instruction (CBI) because it promises interactive,self-paced, highly visual, easily measured learning. In the past, a lack of available computing power made CBIinfeasible at many universities. However, now that powerfid computing platforms are routinely available, newquestions arise: Do students using CBI learn as well as students receiving traditional classroom instruction?Which courses and types of problems are best suited to CBI? Are the hopes of educators justified? A number of authors have published results on the effectiveness of CB11>2>3. However, most of theseexperiments were performed in the humanities, and little

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Eric J. Shaw

University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) College of Engineering.Approach Engineering educational institutions must provide their students with computer facilities. Areas such asnumerical methods, engineering graphics and systems simulation have evolved such that they cannot bepresented without such facilities. However, several issues surrounding the use of information technology (IT)in education, and in the workplace, have not been examined in as much detail as perhaps is warranted by thisinclusive implementation. Computers have been placed in classrooms across the country, but have theyincreased learning in a relevant fashion, in significant areas? We provide information technology and services(IT&S) to students, but do we also provide

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

S. P. Carullo; R. Fischl; C. O. Nwankpa

Session 1626 Integrating a Power Systems Laboratory into a Client/Server Based Computing Environment S. P. Carullo, C. O. Nwankpa, and R. Fischl Drexel University1. AbstractThe primary goal of the project is to develop a set of experiments which will allow students to examinepower systems in a realistic manner. Drexel University’s Interconnected Power Systems L.uboratory(ZPSL) provides an interchangeable real-life power system network and a computer interface to the systemin order to provide control and data capturing. The computer interface utilizes clientherver and

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Laura L. Sullivan; Winston F. Erevelles

‘7 .— - Session 1626 ..... ..... Integration of Polymer Processing, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, and Metal Casting Processes via Rapid Prototyping Laura L. Sullivan and Winston F. Erevelles GMI Engineering & Management InstituteAbstractFacility preparation and curriculum design issues have been studied and a Stereolithography Apparatus hasbeen purchased to be used by students of Polymer Processing

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Steven Wayde; Ph.D., Roger W. Webster

A Virtual Reality and Scientific Visualization Laboratory for Undergraduates in Computer Science.* Roger W. Webster, Ph.D. Steven Wayde Department of Computer Science PRC, Incorporated Millersville University One Bala Cynwyd Plaza Millersville, PA USA 17551 Suite 324 webster@cs.millersv.edu Bala Cynwyd, PA 18004 http://cs.millersv.edu wayde@philly.nosc.mil http

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Vipin Kumar; Miguel Torres; Jens Jorgensen; John Lamancusa

. Product dissection came at just the right time for me. It is a class which combines mechanical and computer aided drawing, physical formulas and principles with actual hands-on learning. I cant imagine I would have as much interest in engineering as I do now if I had not taken the classA Junior ME student at the University of Washington wrote: ... good hands-on experience, all of our courses are just theory, this was an important change. It was good to break down and understand a complicated system. I saw how all the parts are optimized and work together. It was great to hear the engine start up again! It gave me a lot of confidence. Students fill out a detailed evaluation and feedback form after each dissection exercise

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Henry G. Ansell

to be expressing the positionthat significant improvement in the processes of teaching and learning in school can be achieved. ” In engineering education, industrial advisors sometimes indicate the need for engineers to be capableof good teamwork. The increased use of collaborative learning may be an appropriate response to thatneed. By the time the fall semester started, this instructor decided to try the idea of having learningpartners in an engineering class. The class was Introduction to Digital Systems, in the Computer Scienceand Engineering Department of the College of Engineering of Penn State University. The course was givenat the Berks Campus.Pairing There were 14 students taking this course, so seven pairs were

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Roger Ware; Charles F. Yokomoto

University. His current interests are in thearea of learning styles, problem solving, and personal heuristics. He has been using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in research and classroom applications. In the field of electricalengineering, his research interests are in the area of computer-aided network design,optimization, and design centering. Dr. Roger Ware is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Indiana University-Purdue Universityat Indianapolis (IUPUI). He received his degrees from the University of Louisville and theUniversity of Kentucky. He has used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in his classes in groupdynamics, in his consulting activities in industrial organization and human resourcesdevelopment, and in his research in

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Magin; Margery Osborne; Bruce Bertram; Bruce Wheeler

Session 2532 Asynchronous Learning in the Small Engineering Classroom Bruce Wheeler, Richard Magin, Margery Osborne, and Bertram Bruce University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAbstract Two small enrollment engineering courses have been taught using the methodology of theAsynchronous Learning Environment, in which computer networking and conferencing capabilities areused to make student-instructor and student-student interaction more immediate. Included in the effort wasthe creation of all-electronic assignments, where homework posting, execution, reporting, submission,grading, and

Collection

1996 Annual Conference

Authors

Gordon W. Couturier

LOTUS Notes,” marketing brochures from Ventana Corporatio~ 1995.4. Live satellite broadcast on September 12, 1995 by the National Technological University entitled“Cooperative Learning in Engineering Courses” and presented by Karl A. Smith and Richard M Felder.GORDON COUTURIER is associate professor of Computer Itiormation Systems. He specializes in analysisand design of communication systems and networks. He has 25 years’ experience at Bell Telephone Labs(std3j, ITT (manager), GTE (Director of Engineering), and AT&T Paradyne Corporation (Director ofEngineering). Page 1.125.4 ?$h’-’ } 1996 ASEE Annual