The Role of MDSolids in International Mechanics of Materials Education

Abstract

MDSolids is educational software intended primarily for students in the Mechanics of Materials course. MDSolids has been available free-of-charge to the engineering education community since 1997, and it has been provided to hundreds of schools and universities around the world. Although MDSolids has been widely used, there has not been a formal study of its role in Mechanics of Materials education. To gather information on its use, a survey was conducted to gather information about (1) the types of learners who use MDSolids, (2) student attitudes about using the software, (3) information about how professors utilize MDSolids in their teaching, and (4) effects of MDSolids on student performance in selected topics as perceived by professors. The survey results show that MDSolids is used in all types of settings in a variety of ways. Professors note that MDSolids serves to help motivate students and that it seems to be a factor in the noticeable improvement in their students' performance in several topic areas.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Third Department

Business and Information Technology

Keywords and Phrases

MDSolids; Mechanics of Materials Education

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2005 Tempus, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2005

Link to Full Text

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