Geo: A Web Based Event Registration And Communication Tool

The first-year engineering courses at Clemson University involve various out-of-class requirements, such as departmental tours, exams, team projects, and presentations. Enrollment in the first semester course typically exceeds 850 students, and the number of students who can attend any single out-of-class event has physical and logistical limitations. Additionally, because these students are unfamiliar with course guidelines, procedures, and each other, straightforward communication tools are vital to their success. A web-based system, GEO (General Engineering Online), was developed using PHP 1 (a programming language used to dynamically generate web pages) and MySQL 2 (a relational database management system). The system allows preregistration for required out-of-class activities (department tours, advisor appointments, and team project work sessions). It also provides a portal for communication between students, instructors and advisors (peer evaluations, surveys, email confirmations of appointments, and student/team management). This study examines the capabilities of the GEO system from the viewpoint of students and faculty, as well as its pedagogical implications. The program and data structure are described, along with sample statistics generated by the system. Future directions include the development of GEOPort, an individual and team work documentation tool. This will transform GEO from a registration and communication tool into an education research tool. Team members will be able to post text, pictures, or video in response to instructor-posted materials, and to document their progress on projects and assignments. Rubrics can be developed to grade online submissions, and to track student approaches to design, problem-solving, and team dynamics.