Engineering and Engineering Technology education are essential today and influence almost every aspect of our society. Yet, engineering enrollments and engineering degrees continue to decline nationwide. The Pre-Engineering Instructional and Outreach Program (PrE-IOP) seeks to enlarge the future pool of qualified high-tech workers, including those who have been historically underrepresented (minorities and women). This is being accomplished through two components: 1) The implementation of pre-engineering curriculum in middle and high schools. 2) A comprehensive information campaign about the rewards of engineering and technology professions. A chemical engineering curriculum module has been designed to create connections between the science used in engineering applications in the modern workplace and the high school science classroom. Chemical engineering concepts are selected that support the topics taught in high school science and are the basis for the design of an industrial plant. Also, the materials are meant to fit the instructional classroom needs of high school teachers by addressing the state content standards. The adoption, adaptation and where necessary the development of appropriate pre-engineering curriculum for use in high school science classrooms is being accompanied by sustained, long-term teacher training and support. Summer institutes, with hands-on workshops are designed to familiarize the teachers with the curriculum and the associated pedagogy. Evaluation includes the teacher training, and the implementation of the curriculum materials.

Modern conveniences abound in the world today. This is sometimes not evident in graduate classrooms. While innovative teaching techniques are often discussed in regard to undergraduate courses, they seem to be less frequently seen in graduate courses. This is unfortunate, as these tools may in many cases be of even more value in those courses. This paper will discuss the use of a variety of online tools in the teaching of the required graduate course in chemical engineering thermodynamics at New Jersey Institute of Technology. The tools include electronic lecture notes, online quizzes, web-based bulletin boards, electronic submission and grading of projects and papers, and online monitoring of course grades by the students. Use of these tools can help students whose learning style may not be well suited to the traditional lecture format. Many of these tools are also helpful in dealing with the diversity of backgrounds found in core graduate courses. Some differences are due to the educational background of the students. Others are due to their cultural background, as most graduate programs typically have many international students. Use of online tools can help to alleviate some of the problems in dealing with this diversity. There are also some pitfalls in using these tools that should be avoided. The paper will address both sides of the issue of using online tools to supplement the teaching of a required graduate course.