Remote Experimentation - One Building Block in Online Engineering Education
Esche, S. K.
Proceedings of the 2002 ASEE/SEFI/TUB International Colloquium "Global Changes in Engineering Education", Berlin, Germany, October 1 - 4, 2002.
Abstract
Currently higher education in general and engineering education in particular are undergoing significant structural changes worldwide.
The rapidly changing technological landscape forces educators to constantly reassess the content of engineering curricula in the context of emerging fields (e.g., biotechnology, information technology, nanotechnology) and with a multidisciplinary focus (e.g., mechatronics, system engineering).
In this process, it is necessary to devise, implement and evaluate innovative pedagogical approaches for the incorporation of these novel subjects into the educational programs without compromising the cultivation of the traditional skills.
In this framework, modern information technology based on the Internet is rapidly being adopted in engineering education as a tool for enhancing the educational experience of students residing on campus as well as to expand the reach of unique programs beyond the local campus.
Stevens Institute of Technology is currently in a phase of dynamic transformations of both its undergraduate and graduate educational offerings.
It has recently implemented a new undergraduate engineering curriculum that reflects the latest trend towards enhancement of traditional lecture-based courses with both a design spine and a laboratory experience propagating through the entire educational program.
In the course of the curriculum development, it was recognized that the incorporation of design and laboratory components into all engineering courses places a significant strain on the spatial, temporal and fiscal resources of the institute.
In order to accommodate the anticipated student enrollment, an open student laboratory approach that is founded on Internet-based, remotely accessible experimental setups was developed and implemented.
In this approach, the students’ experimental experience is greatly expanded by allowing them to not only use the experimental facilities in the traditional on-sight fashion but also to remotely access the computer controlled laboratory setup of interest through the Internet.
In addition to making the laboratories available to students at any time from anywhere, this open approach also serves as the basis for the affordable integration of laboratory experiences into the lecture environment.
This paper will present a first assessment of the experiences gained from the implementation of the remotely accessible laboratory into a sophomore-level core course on dynamical systems and a junior-year elective course on mechanisms and machine dynamics.
The paper will focus on the integration of remote experimentation into the undergraduate learning environment and analyze the advantages and shortcomings of such remote laboratories.
The cross-fertilization between abstract physical concepts and experimental validation achieved through the seamless integration of lecture and laboratory material is highlighted using the experimental setup of a mechanical vibration system.