The Development And Testing Of An Interactive Web Based Tutorial For Orthographic Drawing Instruction And Visualization Enhancement

As has been shown by significant research over the past several decades, there is much that can be done to encourage student development in visualization ability. This capability to visualize, or “see” in three-dimensional space in the mind’s eye, is crucial in many areas of computer graphics, engineering design, and manufacturing technology, and is spreading across traditional boundaries in many industries. In conventional engineering graphics instruction, having students alternate between pictorial representations and orthographic views of an object or assembly is one method used to exercise and develop 2D/3D visualization skills. The success of this method of instruction is highly dependent on individual student ability, and often requires a significant amount of instructor mentoring. The authors have written several papers on the rationale for, and the development of, a computer-based tutorial that focuses on enhancing student capabilities with multiview orthographic drawing. An important recent enhancement to the tutorial is the incorporation of an interactive Web-based drawing application that provides real-time assessment and performance feedback. Preliminary analysis of early versions of the application has been both encouraging and informative. The authors anticipate that continued testing and development of the application will provide a novel and effective educational aid. This paper discusses the technology and methodology used to create the tutorial and drawing application, as well as foundational and pedagogical aspects of graphics instruction and computer-based educational technology. The results of on-going quantitative and qualitative assessment are also reviewed, along with plans for future development.