ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923506

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

In 1995, the International Association of Universities( IAU) created, within its Board, a Task Force on Universities and Information Technologies. This Task Force is composed of eminent personalities from the academic world. At two recent meetings held in 1997, it examined some of the challenges facing universities in the new information society. This paper summarizes the main questions concerning the impact of information and communication technologies on universities, mainly the benefits of, and limitations to, the use of information technologies in teaching, learning and research. It ends with concluding remarks from the IA U Task Force and a number of recommendations as to what strategies to adopt.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923507

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

For several decades, computers have been used in educational settings. Our purpose here is to show how education has successively benefited from traditional information processing, through programmed instruction and computer-assisted instruction (CAI), then from artificial intelligence, through intelligent CAI and then intelligent tutoring systems, then from multimedia and hypermedia techniques, through intelligent learning environments, and finally how it can now benefit from the technologies of information and communication, in particular through the Internet. We finally give an outlook of the current trends of research.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923508

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

In the first semester of 1997, once again, we taught our introductory Database Management (CS230) course to around 350 students on our two main campuses. On this occasion, we used the e-mail, NewsGroups, Telnet and the World Wide Web capabilities extensively to support access to teaching and learning materials, for promulgation and submission of assignments and for staff-staff-student-student communication. In this context, students encountered challenging difficulties arising out of what might be described as ‘problems with socio-technical systems’. This paper describes the several elements of the teaching programme the curriculum elements, the teaching staff and the technology intended to support each of these. With most of these elements, we encountered a number of ‘small’ problems. Taken in conjunction, these several difficulties presented students with considerable impediments to successful learning in this subject. The paper concludes with observations concerning conditions which must be in place for Internet-augmented teaching and learning to be successful and enjoyable and reports some performance data which indicate a positive—although not strong—benefit from the use of the WebTests upon the final examination results. We include a ‘pre-fiight checklist’ for each element in the programme and each linkage between them. The prediction is that the need for checklists of this kind will increase as we increase the number and remoteness of links in the teaching chain, the number and experience of sources of communication contained in those links and increasingly challenge the technical reliability of the linkages, and as each of those multi-faceted links is subject to rapid evolution.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923509

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

A teaching and learning development project is currently under way at Queens-land University of Technology to develop advanced technology videotapes for use with the delivery of structural engineering courses. These tapes consist of integrated computer and laboratory simulations of important concepts, and behaviour of structures and their components for a number of structural engineering subjects. They will be used as part of the regular lectures and thus will not only improve the quality of lectures and learning environment, but also will be able to replace the ever-dwindling laboratory teaching in these subjects. The use of these videotapes, developed using advanced computer graphics, data visualization and video technologies, will enrich the learning process of the current diverse engineering student body. This paper presents the details of this new method, the methodology used, the results and evaluation in relation to one of the structural engineering subjects, steel structures.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923510

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Servo pneumatics retains the advantages of standard pneumatics and adds the opportunity for closed-loop controlled, programmable positioning to within fractions of a millimeter in systems in which positions can be approached rapidly and without overshoot, stability under variable loads and conditions, and adaptive control for optimized positioning. Our challenge was to create an interactive multimedia program that could communicate exciting technical material to interested parties, including students and academia, professional design, industrial and manufacturing systems engineers, marketing and sales engineers and managers in a non-linear, enjoyable fashion. Our approach was that of interactive multimedia on CD-ROM, allowing the integration of text, color images, videos and animation for the purpose of following an engineering problem-solving approach, both when modeling, as well as when illustrating real-world solutions with interactive digital videos. Furthermore, this article introduces outcome-driven assessment principles ( as defined by the American Accreditation Board of Engineering Education) as the key to our educational multimedia design objectives. It illustrates open-loop controlled pneumatic and closed-loop controlled servo pneumatic positioning systems, their components, their programming and some of their applications.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923511

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Forecasts for the years 2000-20 predict: (a) reapportioning of the labor market such that about 80% will fall in the service domain and only 20% in hi-tech industry; (b) intervention of robots and the Internet into human activities to facilitate first-hand handling of information in real time; (c) spread of SAMART materials, super-microtechnology, nanorobots and nanocomputers. These predictions are based, to a large extent, on the implementation of mechatronics in technological applications. The concept of mechatronics, which first appeared in 1969, has passed through a process of natural development, which explains the variety of existing definitions. It soon became apparent that mechatronics constitutes a qualitatively new situation: a domain of technology spanning mechanical and electronic engineering at the joint between hardware and software. Difficulties in teaching this subject arise from the gap in experience and skills between software experts and experts in the design and use of hardware. In our department, the practical teaching of mechatronics comprises: practical work in the laboratory devoted to studying some applications of known technical solutions, e.g. ABS (automatic braking system), automatic photo camera, computerized numerical control tools and robots; development of new ideas in new domains in the framework of projects (a case study presented in this paper describes mechatronic solutions to automatic adaptive vibrations control systems).

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923512

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Demand for engineers trained in software development and applications has outstripped supply in Sweden (and many other industrial countries) in recent years. This is partly due to the phenomenal growth of embedded software in the industrial sector. Because ‘software’ is so often associated with computers and telecommunications only, and not with embedded software in industrial products, the economic growth of the latter is traced from 1981 to 1995 to show its importance. Sectors studied include computers, machinery, electronics, transportation equipment and telecommunications. While the computer industry accounted for about 75% of all Swedish software in 1981, in 1995 it only accounted for not quite 30%. The Swedish machinery, electronics and transportation equipment sectors combined accounted for more software production than the Swedish computer sector. The drivers of this development (ever larger and faster microprocessors) continue to form the future of high technology, which by definition consumes university-educated engineers and scientists at a high rate. The demands this puts on university technical education are not currently being met, either in terms of quantity or of content. Modern developments in software engineering may make it possible for engineering and science departments other than computer science and its equivalents to produce ‘microprocessor-compatible engineers’ who can develop and use software to solve engineering problems more efficiently and reliably than before. This new view of engineering education must be embedded in traditional engineering and science departments.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923513

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

In a university, leaching and research proceed together. The regular teaching staff are usually assisted by researchers on short-term appointments. Although the individuals in this group are of many different kinds, they form what might be termed the research community. It is suggested that the place of this community in engineering education and its particular concerns deserve closer study. This paper is limited to matters that arose from the implementation of a national scheme to provide better career management for research staff. It includes opportunities to become more effective contributors to the teaching curriculum. The measures required for this are straightforward, but in framing them it seemed to be necessary to compose a charter for research, setting out the rights and obligations that might be appropriate for the research community. As nothing substantial could be found on which to base it, this might be novel. The initial draft is presented here for wider consideration, particularly of its explicit recognition of a role for researchers in the wider educational functions of a university.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923514

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The development of assessment criteria for undergraduate project work in engineering design is perceived as a difficult task. The activity of design is often seen as irrational and proposed design solutions frequently lie outside the fixed domain covered by the curriculum. Nevertheless, such criteria remain absolutely essential to the objective and fair assessment of all undergraduate project-based learning. This paper begins with a brief statement of the design activity and then goes on to describe an innovative course that has been developed at undergraduate level. The course places a strong emphasis on visual and oral communication skills during the first semester, which are complemented by more technical engineering design material in the second semester. A positive feature of the course is the regular contact between course director and students, which helps to maintain feedback on project progress and level of performance. The final part of the paper describes detailed assessment criteria which have been developed for all aspects of the course. Assessment is entirely through oral and written presentations in which a balance is struck between marks awarded for presentation and for content based on the overall course objectives. Students are provided with a clear description of what is expected of them and given a summary of the marking scheme adopted.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799808923515

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor