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Title: Animated instructional software for mechanics of materials: Implementation and assessment
Author (s): Philpot, Timothy A.
Hall, Richard H.
Department/Lab Affiliations: Business & Information Technology
Information Science & Technology
Interdisciplinary Engineering
Keywords: animations
assessment
instructional software
mechanics of materials
Issue Date: 2006-04-19
Publisher: Wiley
Citation: Philpot, Timothy A., and Hall, Richard H. "Animated Instructional Software for Mechanics of Materials: Implementation and Assessment." Computer Applications in Engineering Education, vol.14, no.1, (2006).
Abstract: During the past 3 years, the Basic Engineering Department at the University of Missouri-Rolla has been developing a second-generation suite of instructional software called MecMovies for the Mechanics of Materials course. The MecMovies suite consists of over 110 animated example problems, drill-and-practice games, and interactive exercises. Students generally respond favorably to software of this type; however, much of the data that has been gathered to assess the effectiveness of similar software has been anecdotal. The method by which instructional software is incorporated into the engineering class is partly responsible for this lack of systematic evaluation. Often, software packages have been implemented in the classroom as supplemental material—recommended but not required. In the Fall 2003 semester, MecMovies was integrated thoroughly into the course assignments for one of the six UMR Mechanics of Materials sections. Four professors were involved in the study, and student performance in the experimental MecMovies section was compared to performance in the five control sections through a common final exam. At the end of the semester, students who used the MecMovies software also completed a survey questionnaire consisting of a number of subjective rating items. This paper presents a comparison of student performance in the experimental and control sections along with discussion of student qualitative ratings and comments.
Type: Article - Journal
text
In Title: Computer Applications in Engineering Education
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titleAnimated instructional software for mechanics of materials: Implementation and assessment
contributor.authorPhilpot, Timothy A.
contributor.authorHall, Richard H.
contributor.deptlabBusiness & Information Technology
contributor.deptlabInformation Science & Technology
contributor.deptlabInterdisciplinary Engineering
contributor.sponsorNational Science Foundation
contributor.sponsorU.S. Department of Education
subjectanimations
subjectassessment
subjectinstructional software
subjectmechanics of materials
date.issued2006-04-19
publisherWiley
identifier.citationPhilpot, Timothy A., and Hall, Richard H. "Animated Instructional Software for Mechanics of Materials: Implementation and Assessment." Computer Applications in Engineering Education, vol.14, no.1, (2006).
identifier.pub.URI
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/112595664/PDFSTART
description.abstractDuring the past 3 years, the Basic Engineering Department at the University of Missouri-Rolla has been developing a second-generation suite of instructional software called MecMovies for the Mechanics of Materials course. The MecMovies suite consists of over 110 animated example problems, drill-and-practice games, and interactive exercises. Students generally respond favorably to software of this type; however, much of the data that has been gathered to assess the effectiveness of similar software has been anecdotal. The method by which instructional software is incorporated into the engineering class is partly responsible for this lack of systematic evaluation. Often, software packages have been implemented in the classroom as supplemental material—recommended but not required. In the Fall 2003 semester, MecMovies was integrated thoroughly into the course assignments for one of the six UMR Mechanics of Materials sections. Four professors were involved in the study, and student performance in the experimental MecMovies section was compared to performance in the five control sections through a common final exam. At the end of the semester, students who used the MecMovies software also completed a survey questionnaire consisting of a number of subjective rating items. This paper presents a comparison of student performance in the experimental and control sections along with discussion of student qualitative ratings and comments.
typeArticle - Journal
type.DCMITypetext
type.statusPostprint
rightsThis material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.
rights.URI
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/tacou.html
relation.isPartOfComputer Applications in Engineering Education
date.accessioned2008-03-25T18:58:35Z
date.available2008-03-26T14:46:49Z
identifier.persist.URI
http://scholarsmine.mst.edu/post_prints/Animatedinstructionalsoftwareformechanicsofmat_09007dcc804c5a06.html