Development Of Virtual Laboratory For The Study Of Mechanics

Virtual Laboratory for the Study of Mechanics (VLSM) is a Web-based educational tool being developed to support Statics and Mechanics of Materials instruction at Mississippi State University. It is designed to serve as an asynchronous tutorial tool with ten modules devoted to topics of interest in these two courses. A typical module consists of concise theoretical discussions, interactive MathView examples, a Java-enabled design modeling and analysis tool, and a collection of test-your-knowledge exercises with response feedback. This paper describes the objectives of developing VLSM, and gives an overview of some of its modules that have already been developed and are currently being used and evaluated at the designated Web site (www.ae.msstate.edu/vlsm).