Web Based Distance Learning Environment To Teach Computer Aided Engineering Design And Analysis Tools

Computer aided engineering design and analysis technologies have become very important in engineering development. They increase product reliabilities and decrease product development time and cost. Many engineering students hope to learn and use these tools for their research projects and in their future careers. This paper describes a distance learning initiative at the University of Oklahoma to help teach and train the engineering students about engineering computer aided design (CAD) and analysis technologies. There are two distinct advantages of this learning environment. First, it accommodates multiple learning styles, such as traditional teaching, interactive multimedia-based training, and case studies, to assist users to understand two commonly used CAD tools, Pro/Engineer and Solid Works; second, it was built not only for individual study, but also to facilitate use in a class structure. This feature is supported by a well-designed database. The user can either register as a regular user, which means he/she will study individually and freely. Or, the user can register as a student of a specific class. Furthermore, user forum was built into this environment to encourage collaboration between users and to discuss problems. Teachers can register their classes on the training site and monitor their students’ progresses. While the asynchronous mode of teaching is becoming more and more popular, there is still much to explore in the online teaching arena. The use of an integrated database on a web server provides new opportunities to research these methods. Many essential features of a large-scale learning environment, such as user tracking, community collaboration, and assessment, are supported by the database in the background. In particular, the system coordinates the learning activities of each user to help them understand the fundamentals of CAD and acquire the basic functions of the CAD tools. The learning methods utilize case studies, tutorials and concept pages. Each is independently monitored for user activities, to provide information that the users may need as they progress. This paper also discusses the development and maintenance of the distance learning site, as well as the unique requirements of online training of engineering contents.