Interactive Web Examples For Dynamics Developed Using Dazzlermax

Technology and the WWW have tremendous potential to enhance the teaching and learning of dynamics. Course notes, animations, worked out example problems, videos of lectures, etc., can be, and are being, put on the web for student use. Lacking, however, are interactive example problems that require students to not only read a problem but to actively work through the problem. Example problems are key elements in helping students learn the basic principles of dynamics. In this paper, the author will discuss interactive example problems that were developed using DazzlerMaxTM, an e-learning authoring tool. The examples were developed using the same question and answer paradigm that the author uses when presenting example problems in class. Students are required to pick a strategy and to answer questions that are chosen to help guide them through the example problem’s solution. Since there is rarely a unique path through a solution, the interactive example problems are designed to allow different paths, thus challenging the students’ perception that there is a “right way” to solve a problem. For example, for a problem involving multiple systems, the student decides which system to start with rather than being forced to passively accept one. Assessment of the interactive example problems will also be presented.