Using technology in engineering education

Transcription

1 OPEN ACCESS Engineering Leaders Conference 2014 Using technology in engineering education Kailash M. Bafna Industrial and Entrepreneurial Engineering & Engineering Management, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008, USA ABSTRACT With the exponential rate of development in technology for delivering education, we now stand at the gateway of seeing sweeping changes in how the engineering students are educated in the 21 st century. These techniques will need to be tailored to satisfy the needs of the generation of students who are now in college better known as the millennial students. These students have some unique characteristics which make it difficult for them to derive maximum benefits from the traditional teaching methods with hour-long classroom lectures. They have developed short attention spans and so, when they are not interested in something, their attention quickly shifts somewhere else. As a result, their ideal learning environment has changed to shorter lectures, use of a variety of multimedia, and collaborating with their peers for maximum effectiveness. With the help of technology, it has been found that techniques such as the flipped classroom and on-line and hybrid offering of the class are helping today s students to become independent learners, an attribute that will be extremely useful in their future where lifelong learning has become an integral part of a person s working career. For the past three years I have been offering two math-based courses as a hybrid class using the inverted classroom model. During this period, I have offered 15 sections to about 400 students with extreme success. In my presentation I will discuss the changes which I have made in my courses to teach them as a paperless class using technology. I will also relate my experiences with these courses and the improvement in results obtained from this change. Keywords: Elearning, engineering economy, flipped classroom, hybrid, video lectures /qproc.2015.elc ª 2015 Bafna, licensee Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Cite this article as: Bafna KM. Using technology in engineering education, QScience Proceedings (Engineering Leaders Conference 2014) 2015:7

2 Page 2 of 5 1. INTRODUCTION Ever since the introduction of personal computers about forty years ago, because of the gigantic leaps in their computing power, the enormous increases in the availability of a variety of applications and software, and the sharp drop in their cost year after year, they have gradually become a part of everyday life for a large majority of the people in this world. For most people, their lives revolve around the computer (or its various miniaturized versions such as tablets and smart phones). In fact, an entire generation the Millennials (or Generation Y) have grown up around this technology and feel very comfortable around it. They have embraced the large variety of technological gadgets which are available today as a part of their daily lives, and are constantly using them to satisfy their curiosities by searching the internet and for keeping in touch with society through various types of social media. Consequently, due to this extreme involvement with technology, they have developed short attention spans. Hence, when they are not interested in something, their attention quickly shifts somewhere else. As a result, their ideal learning environment has changed to shorter lectures, use of a variety of multimedia, and collaborating with their peers for maximum effectiveness. 2. THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM During the last decade, many teachers have used technology and the changed characteristics of the Millennials to their advantage in educating students. They have posted recorded videos on a variety of topics on the internet and the students view these at home. They call this the flipped classroom or the inverted classroom. This new method of educating is best described by Salman Khan of the Khan Academy in a 2011 TED talk. We now have on the order of 2,200 videos... We have a million students a month using the site, watching on the order of 100 to 200,000 videos a day.... I started getting letters from teachers. And the teachers would write, saying, We ve used your videos to flip the classroom. You ve given the lectures, so now... what I do is I assign the lectures for homework, and what used to be homework, I now have the students doing in the classroom 1. As one goes through the published literature and the stories on the internet on this style of teaching, it is full of success stories. For more than 30 years, I have been teaching two courses covering the subject of Engineering Economics at the undergraduate level for (1) all engineering majors IME 3100, and (2) for technology majors IME In these courses, I teach several different numerical concepts dealing with the timevalue of money and it is primarily a mathematical course. For the past three years I have been offering these courses as hybrid classes using the flipped classroom model. I have modified the traditional flipped classroom format so my students are required to view all my lectures at home in order to acquire the knowledge base. I have also posted videos on how to apply this knowledge base in solving mathematical problems. These too are viewed by my students at home. Finally, I have assigned several problems (for which answers are given) on the topic so that my students can practice applying the knowledge base on their own time. If they encounter any difficulty in solving a problem, they correspond with me through . Hence, the responsibility for learning and applying the course materials is now entirely upon the student with minimal interaction with me. 3. CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE If a course is to be offered using the flipped classroom format, one cannot simply record the classroom lecture and post it on the internet through a learning management system. To derive the maximum benefit, the course will need to be completely restructured. Based on my several years of experience in using the flipped classroom format, I have developed the following guidelines for best results Divide the entire course into modules (chapters) and learning units (based on learning outcomes) All textbooks are written in the chapter format (which I have referred to as learning modules). I have divided each module into multiple units based upon learning outcomes. I have found that the smaller the units, the easier it is for students to understand each separate concept. In my course, I have about 40 learning units in the 3-credit class Prepare notes with formalized text and graphics for the videos I have found that when students can easily read and visualize the material in the video, they are more focused on the lecture. If they have difficulty in conceptualizing the graphics and the writing, their

3 Page 3 of 5 attention quickly shifts from understanding the lecture to trying to understand the graphics and the writing. As such, I have taken the time to prepare all my lecture materials as PowerPoint slides using several colors and animations. There is nothing done freehand on my slides. Consequently, I find that I am able to capture the full attention of the students Prepare lecture vides for each unit It is important to prepare clear videos (if possible in HD format) with good audio. This can be done using any one of several screen capture applications available on the market. Some are simple to use but have no video editing capabilities. There are others which have several bells and whistles which can be used in the video such as a continuous video of the presenter to occupy 10 15% of the screen area, the rest being devoted to a duplication of the contents of the screen. Other enhancements can be the addition of titles, fade in/fade out, callouts, zooming capabilities of the contents, etc. Over the past nine years, I have used My Screen Recorder Pro and Camtasia Studio and have been happy with the capabilities and results of both applications. In my first generation of lecture videos, I would make the recordings 45 to 50 minutes in length (similar to a classroom lecture). However, based on student feedback, I have now determined that it is best to limit the videos to minutes in length as a maximum so that the student can complete the viewing in one sitting. Beyond that length, there are interruptions such as phones calls, text messages, social media, etc. which get in the way Prepare videos of a few solved problems for each learning unit Once the student has viewed and understood a concept, they want to see how it is applied. As such, having videos of 2-3 solved problems at their disposal, they can immediately see how the concept learned in the lecture video can be applied in solving real problems. Going through these videos also ensures that the student has truly understood the concept(s) Assign a few problems dealing with the learning units along with the answers By solving these problems, a student can master the application of the concept which they have learned Prepare a schedule of units to be completed during each week All the units in the entire course should be divided among each week of the semester with the weekly work load being about equal (in terms of time needed for viewing and solving problems). The schedule should allow for less new materials during the week of an exam to allow the student additional time to review for the exam. This schedule should be given to the students on the first day of the semester and the instructor should periodically emphasize the importance of keeping up with the schedule. When offering a class in the flipped classroom format, items 4 and 5 need not be made available on the internet and can be done during the classroom meetings. However, in my modified flipped classroom approach, as mentioned earlier, I have also included these two items on the learning management system for the students to work on during their own time. In a sense, through this approach I have put the responsibility for obtaining the knowledge base and applying it entirely upon the students. I have found that this makes them more responsible and they are better prepared to become life-long learners after completing their college education. Experience has shown that about a third of the class does not have good time-management skills and spend their time in working on things that are interesting and not things that are required. As such, these students have a tendency to start falling behind. I have incorporated weekly computer-administered quizzes that have helped to address and minimize this problem. This is explained in more detail in the next section. 4. USING A LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR COURSE DELIVERY Once all the material described in the previous section is ready, there has to be a medium by which this material is made available to the students individually on an as needed basis. Almost all institutions of higher learning have some form of a learning management system (typically referred to as elearning) which can be used. At my university, until 2011 Blackboard Learning System Vista Enterprise (WebCT Vista) was used and was provided by Blackboard Inc. Three years ago the University switched over to a different system (D2L) provided by a Canadian Company, Desire2Learn. I started using elearning about

4 Page 4 of 5 ten years ago and, currently, I am using several tools in delivering my course. The purpose of each of these tools and how it is being used in my course is described in this section Course contents All the material needed for my course is placed on elearning under contents in the appropriate module and learning units. This material includes my PowerPoint notes (as PDF files), lecture and solved problem videos linked directly to the University s media site for streaming, and assigned problems with answers (as PDF files). The course syllabus is also placed there. Currently I have about 150 items under contents and these remain there for the entire semester Computer quizzes This module is used to administer tests of any kind which can be computer graded immediately upon submission. I use this feature to administer weekly multiple-choice quizzes based on the learning units assigned for that week. Each quiz can be taken by the student at any time during the week once he has reviewed the posted videos for that week. The test score is released to the student immediately upon completion of the quiz. There are 10 such quizzes and together they are worth 10 percent of the course grade. I find that these quizzes have the effect of compelling the student to keep up with the course schedule Dropbox for graded items If there is any evaluation material that needs to be hand-graded, it can be placed in the Dropbox. Each item is released to the students on a pre-specified date and time and must be completed and submitted back to the Dropbox at another time on the same date or any other date. I use this feature for three different types of evaluations. During the semester, I give three one-question quizzes (20 minutes each), three four-question exams (50 minutes each), and two take home in-depth excel assignments along with video instructions on how to solve the assignments (formatting and procedure). Since my class meets in a room equipped with computer workstations, the quizzes and exams are taken during the class meeting. Upon completion, I upload all the student files to my laptop, grade them on the laptop, and return the graded file back to the student with my comments and the solution Grades This is a very valuable tool for the students the better students always want to know their grade with reference to the class so they can try to improve upon it, whereas the weaker students always want to know their grade standing as the semester progresses to see if they will pass the class or obtain a certain minimum grade. After grading each item, I post the grade on elearning so the student knows his exact grade standing from the grade book based upon all the items graded until then. The students really love this immediate feedback on a real-time basis and many of them take corrective action to avoid a disastrous semester end This feature stores each student s address so that s can be sent to him by the instructor. I constantly use this feature to send s to one or more students or even to the entire class to make them aware of any upcoming requirements for the course, or if there is a need for them to take some corrective action. I have found that using this tool is much faster and simpler than using the regular system. 5. USING THE MODIFIED FLIPPED CLASSROOM MODEL For the fourth consecutive year, I am teaching both courses as hybrid classes. As a result, for a 3-credit class, I am meeting with my students in a classroom for only one hour each week. I do not lecture during the class period and this time is used exclusively for answering questions, taking quizzes and exams, and for solving additional problems. With my format of video lectures, I have flipped the classroom and have created videos and solutions to 70 end-of-chapter problems and placed them on elearning. The students have found this format to be extremely valuable and are able to perform much better in their exams and quizzes, thus raising the overall class average. Simply speaking, although the students submit eighteen quizzes, exams, and assignments during the semester, not a single sheet of paper is used in the solving, submitting, and grading process

5 Page 5 of 5 hence it is truly a paperless class. I have made it a point to grade every single submission and return it to the student with his grade through elearning within 24 hours. Some of the advantages of my paperless class as listed by students are:. More convenient to go through notes. Teacher makes everything very organized and easy to study.. It makes students use new skills and it forces us to adapt to change.. Grades, notes, and resources are all stored in one place and are easily accessible.. The PowerPoint notes, solutions, extra examples, and Excel are all very valuable. Don t have papers to keep organized. Everything is always available in one spot online.. I have access to course materials from anywhere on campus, and at home. I like receiving instructions online and having assignments graded and posted on line.. I like to view the lectures online since I can rewind and pause the video as needed to clearly understand the material. If necessary, I can view a topic multiple times. 6. BENEFITS OBSERVED FROM MODIFYING THE COURSE DELIVERY PROCEDURES For the past three years, I have been offering the two math-based courses using the modified flipped classroom model. During this period I have offered 15 sections to about 400 students with extreme success. My analysis of the course grades in IME 3100 over the last nine years shows a gradual increase in the percent of students receiving higher grades and a gradual decrease in the failure grade. During this period, the cumulative class GPA has also improved by half a letter grade from 2.24 in Spring 2004 to 2.78 in Fall In addition to the above quantifiable benefits, I have observed several other benefits in the way I am offering my class. Some of these are listed below: 1. Each student is able to work at his own pace. Since the lectures and all other materials are available on elearning throughout the semester, each student can spend as much or as little time that he needs to grasp the material and get a better understanding. 2. The overall performance of the class has improved over the years. 3. Since students only need to keep up with the weekly schedule, it offers them greater flexibility in scheduling their study sessions based upon their other time commitments including part-time work. 4. Since I only meet the students for one hour each week, they need to do all the studying and solving of the problems on their own. Knowing this, they have become more responsible. 5. My procedure requires reduced class contact time with the students. They do all the work according to their schedule and meet in class only for one hour each week (for a 3-credit class). 6. As a result of my using the grade book feature in elearning, with every new grade that is posted, the student knows his exact grade standing in the course. 7. CONCLUSION There is no doubt that my innovations in the design and presentation of the Engineering Economy course has brought the delivery of this course in particular, and learning in general, to a whole new level. I am using the flipped classroom model and streaming my video lectures through elearning so that students can view them outside the classroom at their convenience. I now use the limited scheduled class meetings to administer quizzes and exams and for solving problems. I am taking learning to a whole new level by applying the learned materials to solving problems. I have tested my modified flipped classroom method of teaching a quantitative course over three years with multiple offerings to about 400 students. The results obtained each semester have been consistent showing that my method works every time. By incorporating new and emerging technologies in my teaching, these changes have fostered critical thinking among the students and inspired them to apply the techniques learned in the course to real-life problems. Although my methodology was applied in teaching the Engineering Economics course, it can easily be adapted to other courses in the engineering discipline. REFERENCES [1] Khan S. Let s use video to reinvent education. Available: video_to_reinvent_education}?, September 20, 2014 (Filmed March 2011 at TED2011).