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Session 1264

Utilizing Web Enhanced Technology in Environmental Courses

Dr. Nicholas A. Scambilis, Jennifer Saygers-Wise Sinclair Community College

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present how Internet based resources have successfully complemented environmental engineering technology course delivery and developed students’ life long learning skills.

Introduction: “Traditional Learning”, lectures at a prescribed place and time, is a proven teaching method especially effective for communicating large amounts of information. The lecture method is instructor centered, not student centered. The teacher is in control of the pace and order of the material. It does not accommodate the wide range of student backgrounds or adjusts easily to variations in learning styles. Materials presented in class are determined and limited to those selected by the instructor or included in the textbook. Professional communication skills, through the Internet or in a team atmosphere, are also limited. Furthermore, time and costs limit the instructor’s ability to present multiple materials to accommodate more than one learning style thus affecting the student’s education and life-long learning skills.

Based on input from various employers the emerging opportunities for engineering education is in the development of skills that utilize Internet resources. However, the opportunity for students to engage in professional Internet communication skills is limited to available resources and applications. Computer hardware and software are constantly changing thus inflicting a monetary burden on most educational institutions. More computers are needed for the students. The President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology concluded that a ratio of four to five students per instructional computer is desired for effective use within the schools. (1) The percentage of public schools connected to the Internet has increased from 35% in 1994 to 95% in 1999. Furthermore, the ratio of students to computers with Internet access in 1999 ranged from seven-to-one among schools with the lowest concentration of poverty, to sixteen-to-one among schools with the highest concentration of poverty.(2) While the progress of computer access is encouraging, research by the Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO) indicates that academic applications involving the computer is significant in only a small minority of secondary schools.(3)

The CRITO research goes on to say that only 17% of science teachers and 11% of math teachers regularly incorporate computers in their instruction.(4) This means that while the ratio of students to instructional computers has improved, the utilization of computers has not encouraged professional and technical development.

The effectiveness of Internet course enhancement is suggested by a study at Massachusetts

“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society of Engineering Education”

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Wise, J., & Scambilis, N. (2003, June), Utilizing Web Enhanced Technology In Environmental Courses Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11543