Implementing a new approach for the design of an e‐learning platform in engineering education

Abstract

Modern corporations, institutions, universities and schools consider e‐education as a way of educating larger groups of students in less time and of reducing the use of various resources. Since setting up a web‐system for e‐education requires a significant amount of time, as well as the necessity of having a computer and other resources, the assessment of the goals and desired effects of the online system should be made in the preparation phase. It is important to highlight that only putting course contents on the web, without using appropriate pedagogical models and principles, without appropriate means of communication between participants and instructors and without the use of modern information technologies to present the learning content is not enough to fulfil educational goals. It should be noted that, after the substantial initial investment and excitement about the possibilities of e‐education, many sources of difficulty and dissatisfaction regarding online learning have emerged. Most e‐learning studies propose possible improvements in course material, with little attempt to explore the learners' dimension, context, pedagogical considerations or technology aspects. In this article, we have analysed the aspects that need to be considered when designing an e‐learning platform for engineering education and we have proposed a methodology, based on the Quality Function Deployment approach, useful for the preparation phase of distance learning systems. Finally, we have explained the impact of new information technologies (Web3D technologies) on online engineering education and highlighted how these tools have been implemented in the e‐learning platforms for mechanical engineering that we have developed.© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 22:708–727, 2014; View this article online at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI

BIM and Sustainability Education: Incorporating Instructional Needs into Curriculum Planning in CEM Programs Accredited by ACCE

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Engineering Drawing Teaching Exploration and Reformation in Xinxiang Medical University

“…Furthermore, it can make a single course into a multi-disciplinary integration the teaching platform [4][5] .…”

Evaluación de la formación online en el campus Andaluz virtual. El caso de las materias de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide

“…Different authors (Duart & Sangrà, 2000;Espinosa, 2000;Lally, 2000;Sagrà, 2001;Rourke & Anderson, 2002;Fernández, 2003;Cabero, 2006;Martínez, Sampedro, Péres, Miláns del Bosch & Granda, 2008;Ballesteros, Cabero, Llorente & Morales, 2010;Fustes, Díaz & Entonado, 2010;García & Cabero, 2011;Del Moral & Villalustre, 2012;etc. ), have studied this aspect and, in 2008, the first standard on the quality of virtual learning was defined, the une 66181:2008 standard (Hilera González, 2008), since simply uploading course content onto the web, without using the appropriate teaching models and principles, without adequate means of communication between the participants and the educators and without making proper use of information technologies to present the content of the course, is not sufficient to achieve the educational ends, as Violante & Vezzetti (2014) suggest. On this basis and, as we consider it to be essential that all of the elements that make up virtual learning be contemplated and studied to ensure its quality, we have undertaken the study presented here.…”