Work-in-Progress: Towards the Development of a Model for Beneficial Use of Educational Technology through a Photovoltaics Engineering Website

Katherine G. Nelson; Jenefer Husman; Refika Koseler; Stuart Graham Bowden

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Computers in Education Division Poster Session
Tagged Division: Computers in Education
Page Count: 11
Page Numbers: 25.1495.1 - 25.1495.11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--22252
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/22252
Download Count: 433

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Paper Authors

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Katherine G. Nelson Arizona State University

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Katherine Nelson is in her fourth year of graduate studies at Arizona State University (ASU), working towards her Ph.D. in Engineering Education. She is currently a research assistant at the NSF and DOE co-sponsored Engineering Research Center on Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technology (QESST) at ASU. In this role, she is focusing her attentions on development of both effective and affective curricular tools to aid post-secondary students' learning in solar energy/photovoltaics engineering.

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Stuart Bowden received his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 1996 for work on static concentrators using silicon solar cells. Following graduation, he transferred the buried contact solar cell technology from UNSW to Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT). In 1998, he joined the Inter-University Micro Electronics Centre (IMEC) in Belgium, where he demonstrated rear surface passivation of multicrystalline silicon wafers using boron diffusions and inversion layers created by silicon nitride. In 2001, he joined Georgia Institute of Technology, where he worked on molecular beam epitaxy and the characterization of interface states in a variety of oxide materials. From 2004 to 2008, he led the effort at the Institute of Energy Conversion at the University of Delaware, on the development of advanced silicon solar cell structures based around super-passivation and induced junctions.
Bowden has extensive experience in the characterization of silicon materials for photovoltaic applications. In 2005, he was awarded an R&D 100 award for his contributions to the quasi-steady-state photoconductance system that is manufactured by Sinton Consulting. He is also the author of the Photovoltaics CD-ROM (http://pvcdrom.pveducation.org/) that has been used extensively as an educational tool in industry and academia throughout the world. Bowden presently heads up the silicon section of Arizona State University's solar power laboratory (http://pv.asu.edu/).

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Abstract

Creating a model for beneficial use of educational technology through a photovoltaics engineering websitePhotovoltaics (PV) engineering is an emerging field within the schools of engineering. As a result, thereis a need to outline curricula; prioritize the knowledge and skills students’ need to acquire beforeentering their profession or conducting independent research, and outline possible academic andprofessional pathways. To meet these needs, additional learning resources need to be developed forstudents to utilize in order to effectively engage in the content. The purpose of this paper is to discussan established photovoltaics education resource, pveducation.org, as a model and prototype for futureonline engineering educational resources.With 3000 hits per day, pveducation.org engages learners in PV across the globe at a post-secondarycontent level. The authors of the site have recently enlisted educational and cognitive psychologist tohelp develop prompts that aid learners in metacognition, and enhance content to limit cognitive load.Limiting cognitive load allows users to maximize their cognitive resources. Metacognitive prompts areeffective at triggering students’ monitoring of their own comprehension, allowing students to bettermanage their own learning.Although these improvements can support better user experience, leveraging other facets ofeducational technology will enhance e-learning on pveducation.org. Educational technology utilizes andtakes advantage of information technology in such a way that it fundamentally changes and dramaticallyimproves the effectiveness of learning. For example, educational technology tools provide a solidframework to design and organize curriculum; and can create a platform where learners can interactand share their ideas across the globe. We argue that strategic inclusion of many forms of media (suchas audio and video media) would further enhance the pveducation learning experience.We intend to provide a review of educational technology literature in describing existing educationaltechnology tools capable of helping improve engineering learning, determine best practices forassessment of these tools, and establish a foundation of proper organization and management ofcontent and curriculum in web-based learning settings. This work will use pveducation.org, as anexample. The paper will describe specific enhancements to the website’s design over the past threeyears. We contend that through this process the website can encourage the proliferation of effectivelearning of PV across the globe, and serve as a foundation for other new and well establishedengineering domains beginning to embrace e-learning technology.

Citation
Format

Nelson, K. G., & Husman, J., & Koseler, R., & Bowden, S. G. (2012, June), Work-in-Progress: Towards the Development of a Model for Beneficial Use of Educational Technology through a Photovoltaics Engineering Website Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--22252

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -    Creating a model for beneficial use of educational technology through a photovoltaics engineering                                                 websitePhotovoltaics (PV) engineering is an emerging field within the schools of engineering. As a result, thereis a need to outline curricula; prioritize the knowledge and skills students’ need to acquire beforeentering their profession or conducting independent research, and outline possible academic andprofessional pathways. To meet these needs, additional learning resources need to be developed forstudents to utilize in order to effectively engage in the content. The purpose of this paper is to discussan established photovoltaics education resource, pveducation.org, as a model and prototype for futureonline engineering educational resources.With 3000 hits per day, pveducation.org engages learners in PV across the globe at a post-secondarycontent level. The authors of the site have recently enlisted educational and cognitive psychologist tohelp develop prompts that aid learners in metacognition, and enhance content to limit cognitive load.Limiting cognitive load allows users to maximize their cognitive resources. Metacognitive prompts areeffective at triggering students’ monitoring of their own comprehension, allowing students to bettermanage their own learning.Although these improvements can support better user experience, leveraging other facets ofeducational technology will enhance e-learning on pveducation.org. Educational technology utilizes andtakes advantage of information technology in such a way that it fundamentally changes and dramaticallyimproves the effectiveness of learning. For example, educational technology tools provide a solidframework to design and organize curriculum; and can create a platform where learners can interactand share their ideas across the globe. We argue that strategic inclusion of many forms of media (suchas audio and video media) would further enhance the pveducation learning experience.We intend to provide a review of educational technology literature in describing existing educationaltechnology tools capable of helping improve engineering learning, determine best practices forassessment of these tools, and establish a foundation of proper organization and management ofcontent and curriculum in web-based learning settings. This work will use pveducation.org, as anexample. The paper will describe specific enhancements to the website’s design over the past threeyears. We contend that through this process the website can encourage the proliferation of effectivelearning of PV across the globe, and serve as a foundation for other new and well establishedengineering domains beginning to embrace e-learning technology.
AU  - Katherine G. Nelson
AU  - Jenefer Husman
AU  - Refika Koseler
AU  - Stuart Graham Bowden
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work-in-Progress: Towards the Development of a Model for Beneficial Use of Educational Technology through a Photovoltaics Engineering Website
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/22252
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--22252
ER  -