Multimedia-based Environment in Structural Engineering Education M. Noronha, T. N. Bittencourt, S. P. Proença, G. A. Guello
Abstract - Today, multimedia resources are becoming available to anyone. However, the impact of the use of this technology on the process learning is not clear and not very well understood. These resources may represent a powerful tool in the learning process of engineering subjects, since they provide a better visualization of physical processes. The major goal of this work is to discuss the quest for an adequate multimedia-based environment for structural engineering lectures. This paper presents a sample of a course on Mechanics of Materials and discusses strategies and the effort necessary to implement it, which are major concerns in the use of multimedia. Index Terms - Advanced Technology in the Classroom, Engineering & Computer Education.
I. INTRODUCTION The advances of computer technology have revolutionized the processes of writing, reading, interactivity, simulation and visualization [1], adding more dynamic and enhanced components to these processes. In the last years, several researchers and teachers have been doing experiences with multimedia applications [2], but many possibilities still remain unexplored. Among other areas of impact of the new technologies, the current education process is a subject that requires wide discussion and analysis [3][4][5] with regard to the new social concerns coming from the recent advances of computer science. In the particular case of engineering education, the benefits of the use of multimedia resources may be very important. These resources allow a better visualization of simulation of physical processes as well as models with complex geometry. The visualization issue is one of the key points in the learning process of engineering subjects. The major goal of this paper is to detail our views on the quest to achieve an adequate multimedia-based environment for mechanics of materials lectures, having main focus on its contents rather than on its format. The authors of the present paper are investigating a new methodology for the application of multimedia material in classrooms. Even though this methodology is still under development, the first results are very promising. The multimedia resources may add more dynamic and attractive features to the lectures, motivating the students and keeping their curiosity and attention on the subject. M. Noronha, T.Bittencourt & G. Guello, Polytechnic School – University of São Paulo, 05424-970 São Paulo/SP, Brazil, tel: +55-11-8185367, fax: +5511-8185181, e-mail:
[email protected]; S. Proença, School of Engineering of São Carlos - University of São Paulo, 13560-250 São Carlos/SP, Brazil, tel: +55 –16-2739479, fax: +55-16-2739482, e-mail:
[email protected]
II. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE : A HYPERTEXT -BASED TOOL The starting point for the present work has been the previous experience of the authors with hypertext -based tools. Figure 1 shows a sample of a hypertext -based material used in a course on Mechanics of Materials. This material has been developed in a joint project involving professors and students of the Polytechnic School of São Paulo and the School of Engineering of São Carlos [6]. Actually, this hypertext corresponds to an asynchronous learning network tool [7]. It has provided a complementary source for the students and has not been used in classrooms. The content of this hypertext is accessible through the Internet (www.lmc.ep.usp.br/people/tbitten/frat) and is also available for downloading (in pdf format). The design of the hypertext has been a simple task because it has benefited from a traditional organization of the subjects, making use of texts, hyperlinks, graphics, animations in a single frame (Figs. 1 and 2). This hypertext does not contain sound or video features, and a web-browser is necessary for the visualization and interactivity of the contents of the course.
Fig. 1. Hypertext-based material for a Mechanics of Materials course.
A work group of two professors and two undergraduate students has developed the material of this hypertext. They have spent eight months to write the texts, to learn the manipulation of software and to create the graphics, animations and the hypertext itself. It should be pointed out that it has been their first experience with this type of technology.
topic in the global context of study. As Fig. 4 displays, this global view may also be disabled, and a enlarged visualization of the topic itself (without the controllers of the environment) may be seen (expanded view).
Fig. 2. Sample of animations in hypertext.
III. THE NEW PROPOSED MULTIMEDIA-BASED TOOL Together with the previous experience, the availability of new software and the enhanced graphical devices have been the main motivation for developing a multimedia -based environment for the same course on Mechanics of Materials. The new software packages enable the development of highquality graphics, animations and interactivity in an efficient way, while the new graphical devices give support for handling this new material in a fast way. The main goal of this project is to develop the contents of the lectures of this course, using a suitable approach for the new multimedia resources. This task requires a study of the cognitive and pedagogical aspects behind the subjects of the course. After this study, the contents of the course should be translated to a more didactic and comprehensive language through an extensive use of animations, sound and video features. Differently from the previous hypertext -based tool, this new auxiliary environment corresponds to a synchronous learning tool, which will be manipulated in classrooms. Thus, the exhibition of this material requires a multimedia projector connected to a computer. After some preliminary studies, it has been decided to build a unified environment for controlling the exhibition of lectures and topics. This environment should give a comprehensive and logical organization to the course, also allowing the exhibition of text, graphics, animation, sound and video. Furthermore, the environment should be flexible, allowing the modification and creation of new courses in a simple and fast way. Figure 3 shows the design proposed for the setup environment. It contains specific controls for activating the lectures and its topics, and also an area of exhibition for each topic. The topics of a lecture are represented through cognitive and animated symbols, representing the ideas of each topic. According to the topic displayed in the area of exhibition, the corresponding symbol is animated, while the other remain stand-still. A short description of the topic is also presented in a label over the area of exhibition. This feature allows the students to have a global view of the subject and also gives a visual clue of the insertion of this
Fig. 3. Multimedia-based environment
Fig. 4. Visualization modes
Each topic of a lecture consists of an independent component, having its texts, animation, sound, video and controlling tools. Each component corresponds to a single file in the same directory of the environment. Besides, graphics and animations within each component may also correspond to independent files. This modularization allows the incremental development of the course material. Thus, members of a work group might be able to generate graphics and animations separately. Furthermore, it also enables the fast introduction of changes or new features in the environment. Generating a course with the proposed environment has been made easy. This task requires just a resource text file (ASCII format) containing definitions like number of lectures, number of topics of each lecture, name of files of the animated symbol for each topic, and name of files with the content of each topic. However, the definition of the contents and the script to present them is a very complex task. The multimedia resources may be used in different ways for displaying the contents of each topic. Figure 5 shows a sample of text exhibition, which also contains links to animations. In the explanation of the subjects, animations play an important role, since dynamical components might be
considered. The programmers of animations have to be aware of giving emphasis to content rather to the format of the animation. Having this in mind, each animation has been designed to convey the most important fundamental aspects of the concept being transmitted. Thus, all animations have a simple and clear design with a natural and cognitive sequence of frames.
Fig. 7. Animation showing a physical simulation
Fig. 5. Text visualization and links for animations
One of the best uses of animations is the visualization of 3D models. In this case, a suitable step-by-step generation may offer an improved visualization of the model, building a logical sequence of its spatial structure. Figure 6 presents an example of this type of animation.
Fig. 6. Animation showing a 3D model
Animations may be also very helpful in the understanding of dynamical physical simulations, relating mathematical or graphical representations to cognitive models. These models may represent a real model where the explicit physical effects are represented, as Figure 7 displays. Alternatively, they may also represent a virtual model, where the physical effects are represented through a somatic language. Another application of animations is the sequential development of mathematical expressions. Animations may illustrate in a very efficient way the transformations performed in a set of mathematical expressions. Figure 8 shows an example of animation in the algebraic manipulation of mathematical expressions.
Fig. 8. Animation showing mathematical expressions
The proposed environment also allows the exhibition of video. Due to memory restrictions, some video samples with one or two minutes may be currently incorporated in the proposed environment. Figure 9 illustrate the exhibition of a piece of video in the proposed environment. These videos may have strong impacts on a lecture of structural engineering, showing real applications over the subjects discussed in the course, which normally are presented in theoretical or abstract form. Thus, they represent an important source of motivation for the students. On the other hand, producing a video represents one of the most difficult tasks. Beyond digital cameras, video-boards and specific software, it requires the work of professional video producers to obtain high-quality results. Usually, an
amateur production gives results of low quality. Therefore, video producing may increase considerably the costs of a multimedia project. Actually, there has been no effort in video production in our group. The video “Microstructure of Concrete” [8] produced by David Lange (University of Illinois) and Ed Garboczi (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has been converted to digital format and edited to be added to our multimedia material. However, the production of simple and didactical videos is in our plans for the future. Most topics of the proposed course on Mechanics of Materials have short vocal captions for some key steps in the development of each topic. In animations, these captions may be very helpful for the comprehension of the subjects, since they provide additional important information.
In the present work, a group of five professors, two master students and nine undergraduate students is engaged in developing the multimedia-based environment. After getting started with the software and devices, the students have started the development process. Three different work groups have been necessary. The first group (two students) has been responsible for the development of the multimedia environment. The second group (five students) has created and edited the graphics, animations and texts. Finally, the third group (two students) has worked on video editing. Due to modularization, the distribution of work has been very simple. After planning the animations, the professors have had just to provide some sketches with the key frames of each animation. Then, each student could work on his/her animation independently. At the end, all files with the animations have been attached to the environment in a straightforward manner. V. INVESTIGATIONS TOWARDS A NEW METHODOLOGY
Fig. 9. Sample of a video
IV. STRATEGY OF DEVELOPMENT The effort necessary for developing multimedia -based courses represents one of the major concerns of professors and lecturers. In fact, this is a crucial point for most professors engaged in research activities and with short time to prepare their lectures. New technology demands an initial push to be assimilated. Since it evolves continuously, a permanent effort is also necessary to keep up with innovative features. Furthermore, preparing multimedia lectures requires more skills than those necessary in traditional lectures. While traditional lectures have a linear and sequential structure, the multimedia resources presents a variable, dynamic and non-linear structure. Therefore, the production of multimedia material requires a group of authors, producers and programmers. Actually, the natural requirement of a group production represents a positive characteristic of the multimedia development process. As a result of teamwork, the content of a course may have a much richer source of information and knowledge than the content of a course prepared individually.
The multimedia material developed is still under test and has yet not been used in actual lectures. Meanwhile, the methodology of use for this material is being discussed. Basically, the professors plan to use the new material in classrooms together with blackboard and transparencies. The multimedia material consists of an additional component, which may be used as a guideline for the development of the lecture. Due to its motivational and didactical features, this material shall be used for introducing the subjects just before the usual mathematical development. Besides, students may also use the multimedia material as an Asynchronous Learning tool, since it will be also available in the Internet. The work group also plans to create educational programs and tutorials, allowing more sophisticated engineering simulations. These programs are being developed using the programming al nguage JAVA. Students may also perform simulations through the Internet. Aiming to achieve an efficient methodology, the group of professors will accomplish a careful analysis of the feedback of the students. This task will require adequate surveys focusing on motivational, cognitive and didactic aspects of the proposed multimedia-based environment to verify its performance in the learning process. The work group also intends to get involved with experts on education, communication, arts and psychology. This interaction represents a very important factor for achieving a consistent educational tool. Finally, the professors also plan to use this material in electronic conferences and distance education as well. VI. CONCLUSIONS The new technology of multimedia resources bears lots of possibilities that may improve engineering education. It also brings some important questions on the traditional teaching process and its efficiency. Many professors and lecturers are using these new resources, but it seems that no definite methodology has been achieved. One of the major concerns of educators is that developers of multimedia material may
tend to emphasize the form of the course rather than its contents. This was also the major concern of the professors involved in the present work. Thus, animations have had relatively simple graphical design, since the most important thing has been the mathematical and physical concepts that it conveys. The modularization of the environment allows the development of the contents of the course in an efficient manner. Furthermore, changes or design of new courses might be accomplished very rapidly. It is important to point out the natural requirement of teamwork for developing multimedia material as a welcome aspect. Due to teamwork, better-planned lectures may be presented to the students. In addition, the group gains expertise in using cooperative work, an important factor for professional engineers. The production of material in digital format also enables its use with professional course-administrative tools or conferencing software (Lotus Notes, WebCT, WebBoard, Allaire Forums). A multimedia -based environment for engineering education might represent a powerful tool, improving the processes of teaching and learning of engineering subjects. It may also represent an important source of motivation for students, since it uses a modern approach with visual and interactive features. A performance test of this environment in actual lectures requires a careful analysis of the feedback of the students. That will be the next step of this project. A CKNOWLEDGMENTS The following undergraduate students have worked in this project: Ary Gorenstein, Bruno A. P. Mendes, Cristina Simionato, Daniel A. B. Ventri, Fabio Corregio, Flávio L. Luchesi, Frederico A. Mourad, Gabriel Feriancic and Oziel M. Cortez. The authors also whishes to thank Professor Henrique Lindenberg Neto and Professor Mário Eduardo Senatore Soares for their suggestions. This project has been carried out with the financial support provided by FAPESP and by the “Pró-Reitorias de Graduação e Pós-graduação” of the University of São Paulo. REFERENCES [1] Lévy, Pierre, “As Tecnologias da Inteligência ”, Editora 34, São Paulo, 1993. [2] Larson, R. C. “MIT Learning Networks: An Example of TechnologyEnabled Education”, MIT Council Education Technology, USA, 1997 [3] Dowell, E., Baum, E. and McTague, J., “Engineering Education for a Changing World ”, ASEE Project Report, ASEE PRISM, EUA, 1994 [4] Badran, A., “Globalization and Higher Engineering Education”, Global, J. of Engng. Educ.,Vol. 1, No. 1, Australia, 1997 [5] Morgan, R., Reid, P. e Wulf, W. “ The Changing Nature of Engineering”, ASEE Project Report, ASEE PRISM, USA, 1998. [6] Guello, G., “Mecânica dos Materiais: Fundamentos e Tópicos Diversos”, SIAE-project Report, EPUSP, Brazil, 2000. [7] Panitz, B. “ Learning on Demand”, ASEE Project Report, ASEE PRISM, USA, 1998. [8] Lange , D. and Garboczi, E., “Microstructure of Concrete”, a video of the series “Unlocking the Science of Concrete” sponsored by the NSF Center of Cement-Based Materials, USA.
