
THINKING 3D IN 2D: TEACHING THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS AND ENGINEERING TECHNICAL WRITING ONLINE DURING COVID-19
Author(s) -
George Lamont,
Hamza Butt,
Chimdindu Ohaegbu,
Jessica Macri,
Mayuri Punithan,
Steve Lambert
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the ... ceea conference
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2371-5243
DOI - 10.24908/pceea.vi0.14877
Subject(s) - technical communication , relevance (law) , covid-19 , medical education , engineering education , perception , psychology , engineering ethics , engineering , engineering management , computer science , pedagogy , medicine , political science , disease , pathology , neuroscience , law , infectious disease (medical specialty) , electrical engineering
Technical-communication skills impact several graduate attributes and practicing engineerswidely attest that technical communication is a main professional activity, while employers have expressed concerns about students’ lack of these skills. Engineering programs often teach technical communication with hands-on 3D activities. However, educators have faced challenges incorporating technical communication in online modes, compounded by a lack of consensus aboutsustainable delivery. Minecraft Education Edition has shown potential to teach STEM subjects and supplement engineering-design projects, but its use in post-secondary engineering education is only starting to receive serious attention. To address these challenges, we developed a Minecraft activity and observed its impacts on student engagement, learning, and perceptions of its relevance toengineering. Our results show that Minecraft is an effective and engaging platform to teach technical communication and has implications for designing relevant and sustainable online technical activities with easy group collaboration.