Premium
Interactive Web‐based package for computer‐aided learning of structural behavior
Author(s) -
Yuan X. F.,
Teng J. G.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
computer applications in engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.478
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1099-0542
pISSN - 1061-3773
DOI - 10.1002/cae.10020
Subject(s) - computer science , human–computer interaction , user friendly , cursor (databases) , the internet , automation , engineering drawing , artificial intelligence , world wide web , engineering , programming language , mechanical engineering
This paper presents an innovative Web‐based package named CALSB for computer‐aided learning of structural behavior. The package was designed to be widely accessible through the Internet, user‐friendly by the automation of many input functions and the extensive use of cursor movements, and dynamically interactive by linking all input and output data to a single graphical display on the screen. The package includes an analysis engine based on the matrix stiffness method, so the response of any two‐dimensional skeletal structure can be predicted and graphically displayed. The package thus provides a virtual laboratory environment in which the user can “build and test” two‐dimensional skeletal structures of unlimited choices to enhance his understanding of structural behavior. In addition, the package includes two other innovative features, structural games and paradoxes. The structural games in the package represent perhaps the first attempt at intentionally combining the learning of structural behavior with joy and excitement, while the structural paradoxes provide a stimulating environment conducive for the development of creative problem solving skills of the user. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 10: 121–136, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.10020