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Session 2263

Multimedia Technology Supporting Manufacturing Education

Henry W. Kraebber, P. E. Purdue University - School of Technology

Accredited programs in manufacturing engineering technology stress hands on applications and problem solving using the computer as a tool. The computers found in technology laboratories come in many different forms directed at solving a particular problem, developing and documenting a product design, controlling a process or machine, or even helping to manage the business side of the operation. Students learn to program and operate many different computer based applications. The computer is rarely used in manufacturing classes as a teaching tool or as an aid to the instructor, other than in the basic applications of word processing and spreadsheet programs. The powerful computers in manufacturing labs are not often used to improve the teaching or learning activities of manufacturing technology classes.

The continuing increases in computing power and the lowering of the costs associated with the new technology are helping to create effective new applications that can help manufacturing educators be better teachers. This paper looks at recent literature on the application of interactive multimedia (IMM) technology as a teaching tool and considers some of the expected benefits and the probable “pitfalls” which may be encountered. Manufacturing educators are encouraged to carefully plan to use IMM systems as an aid to teaching their classes.

The explosive growth in the capabilities of personal computers has helped bring the computer into nearly every facet of the operation of a business. Manufacturing educators have used computers as tools to solve industrial problems for years. Computer instruction on programming and the use of software packages is a major element of accredited programs in manufacturing engineering technology. Manufacturing laboratories at a two year or four year institution use computers for engineering design, manufacturing planning and control, calculations and productivity analysis, quality control, cost analysis and reporting. The manufacturing lab is designed to represent the systems and processes students will find in industry.

The rapid growth of computer capability also provides opportunity for computers to become an active part of the process of teaching and learning. The use of computers as teaching tools is not new, but use has often been limited to word processing and spreadsheet calculations. Interactive multimedia (IMM) can be the medium that unlocks the power of the computer as a tool for manufacturing education.

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Kraebber, H. W. (1997, June), Multimedia Technology Supporting Manufacturing Education Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6700