Engineering Design Graphic Journal (ASEE - American Society for Engineering Education)
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A Virtual Embedded Microcontroller Laboratory for Undergraduate Education: Development and Evaluation
No full textLaboratory instruction is a major component of the engineering and technology undergraduate curricula. Traditional laboratory instruction is hampered by several factors including limited access to resources by students and high laboratory maintenance cost. A photorealistic 3D computer-simulated laboratory for undergraduate instruction in microcontroller technology was developed to address these issues. The virtual laboratory includes a realistic representation of devices and components used in a traditional laboratory setting. The virtual laboratory requires the students to engage in the same processes as the traditional laboratory. An initial formative evaluation of the virtual laboratory environment (VLE) was conducted with a group of 42 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory microcontroller course at Purdue University. Findings show that students perceived the VLE experience comparable to the physical laboratory experience; in addition, they thought the VLE was easy-to use, engaging and useful. In the paper we describe the development of the VLE and report and discuss the results of the evaluation
The Development of Expertise in the Use of Constraint-based CAD Tools: Examining Practicing Professionals
Get PDFThis paper presents a portion of a research study which examined practicing engineering graphics professionals to discover their experiences in developing expertise in the use of constraint-based CAD tools. Using methods adapted from phenomenological inquiry and cognitive psychology, five practicing engineering design professionals were assessed in an effort to gauge the experiences that contributed to their development of expertise. Interviews and observations were conducted throughout the fall of 2002 to gather data relevant to the experiences of the participants. The thematic elements distilled from the interview and observation data comprised the initial developmental factors of expertise. The conclusions drawn from this study provide an initial look at the development of expertise in the use of constraint-based CAD tools as affected by social and environmental conditions. These conclusions also suggest specific potential teaching and assessment methodologies
Message from the Chair
No full textThe pint is, as educators, we have to deal with many issues related to reaching beyond the core knowledge of our discipline. After reading an article in Prism not long ago, I started thinking about the changes we have faced as educators since I first started attending EDGD meetings. When I first started teaching, we were just on the verge of using computers to teach graphics. When CADD became a part of our curriculum, the focus of papers presented at conferences began to change rapidly. Until then, we mostly debated the relevance of graphics topics, the sequence they should be covered and some helpful techniques - remember the glass cube? Since then, conference papers focused on new topics such as hardware and software issues, board versus CADD, ways to set up a computer lab and how CADD has changed teaching graphics. We then moved on to issues like 3-D modeling versus 2-D drawings. The point is, as educators, we have had to deal with many issues related to teaching beyond the core knowledge of our discipline. Today, we face an additional challenge related to new modes of teaching. The Prism article I referred to - "Connecting the Dots" [December, 2003] - highlighted an online course which used shared resources from multiple authors at multiple universities. The big question today has to be - How is the web impacting the way we teach? We've already seen the move to provide course materials on the Web. Once again, we find ourselves exploring new software - software that can help us publish and maintain documents on the Web. There are new points for discussion - Should we post lectures on the Web? How does it effect class attendance? How do we handle security of our materials? How does it impact communication with our students? - that will become topics for discussions with our peers. Some faculty have already moved on to including chat rooms, question/answer queues, video lectures for distance learning and even gaming simulations for their courses. AS division members share their experiences in papers, we will all benefit from the lessons they have learned as to what is effective and why. I'm excited to hear about how graphics educators are integrating these new technologies into their teaching as well as how they are coping with the changes. Another article in the local paper started me thinking about our students and the world they are growing up in. The article was written by a woman in her late twenties and questioned why although practically anything can be done online these days we still can't vote online in elections. Her point was that in her world so much communication whether for business or pleasure is done conveniently using cell phones, text messaging, online accounts, chat rooms and any other number of communication options. She suggests that - "If voting were less of a cross between the SAT and going to the DMV and more like taking an online survey, it might be more appealing." [Confronting T-shirt logic: 'Only old people vote', Catherine Getches for the Los Angeles Times] I have to admit I had mixed reactions to the article. Although I agree we should be striving for ways to make communication as efficient as possible I worry about the effect it is having on face-to-face communication skills. In addition to the learning curve that goes with all the new technology, we also need to consider how it is impacting the relationship between faculty and their students. Some additional questions we need to discuss and explore are - How is this technology affecting the interaction and communication with our students? How do we engage students in a world so dominated by the internet with its vast array of media - animation, multimedia, video, simulation, and games. I look forward to hearing how graphics educators are exploring these challenges and particularly how they are using new technologies to reach students in new ways without losing that face-to-face interaction which is why most of us got involved with teaching in the first place. I look forward to seeing many of you at the ASEE annual Conference in Salt Lake City and hearing your presentations about current graphics issues
Message from the Editor
No full textDear Members: A recent article in the local paper was entitle "Educators divided over push for taking college course on Internet." It was reassuring to know that I wasn't the only one wondering about "whether a seat in front of a computer is as good as a seat in a college classroom" (McQueen, 1999, Journal & Courier, p. A8). The article points out that currently we don't know a lot about the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. The reports offer a variety of conflicting information about their effectiveness, costs and value. This suggests that it is important to go slowly and lay a strong foundation based on success before committing major resources to on-line education. I remember in the past telling one of my students who didn't like to attend lab that this was not a "correspondence" course. Face-to-face interaction with students is important to the student, as well as, the faculty member. Although new technologies have made it possible to present information and interact with students in many new ways, personal interaction has its merits. Interacting with a student as they tackle a project or solve a problem is what teaching is all about. Sharing viewpoints, critiquing ideas and discussing concepts leads to better solutions and better learning. There is no doubt that the potential of distance learning is vast. However, let's find the right balance of interaction between students and faculty to ensure we are not trying to package an education and ship off to our targeted audience. There are other benefits to attending college than getting an education. Interaction with those who don't think, act or look like you, standing up in front of your classmates and presenting your ideas or working in a team environment to solve a problem helps student grow in many new directions. We will have wonderful distance learning programs in the near future. We can only hope that we don't loose those great interactions between student and educator that we all strive for
Message from the Editor
No full textDear Members: Sometimes you just never know what will show up in the publication hopper. Once again we have a journal issue that reflects the diverse breadth and depth of our constituency. The first article is what I believe to be the second in a series of articles by Robert Chin, analyzing the scholarship published in the Engineering Design Graphics Journal and its cataloging by ERIC. The meta-analysis provided by this article is a critical part of self-assessment that all scholarly publications (and disciplines) need to be constantly going through. I hope that the entire membership reads this article and reflects on its implications. As many of you know the ERIC database was de-funded and shut down, only later to be revived under a new management structure. For educational researchers and practitioners interested in having their work reach the widest possible audience, this was a time of great concern. Without ERIC, our Journal would have lost its primary electronic outlet. I hope that all of our members will be vigilant about policy changes that limit the flow of scholarly communication, whether it be with ERIC or other outlets. Our second article by Hartman provides another approach to disciplinary validation that is equally important. Our discipline is firmly rooted in the application of graphic science. It therefore is critical that we look to how professionals use the tools of our graphic trade. Hartman's analysis provides a deep, rigorous investigation on the development of expertise with constraint-based CAD tools within industry. The arc of development of this expertise not only says something about what happens with our graduates when they leave us, but also what we should be doing to prepare them for their future careers. Finally, Kelley takes a current trend in industry, concurrent engineering, back to the classroom. In his article, he demonstrates how the ubiquitous LEGO toy building system can be used to demonstrate PDM principles used for managing the design and manufacturing of highly complex aerospace and automotive systems. Congratulations to our new Division chair, Holly Ault, and the other newly elected officers. I'm looking forward to going to Williamsburg and to once again be challenged and surprised by the presentations of our membership. I hope that our presenters will follow up by submitting their articles to the Journal so that their work can reach the widest possible audience
Transfer of Learning Between 3D Modeling Systems
Get PDFRecently, many individuals have been faced with a transfer of learning issue, surrounding the move from one 3-D CAD system to another. The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that, with minimal instruction, users can transfer their established high level modeling strategies between packages (thus preserving an important element of efficiency and effectiveness). This transfer will take place once they have mastered the basic syntax necessary to execute their strategies. The results of the study clearly showed the initial conflict when there were syntactic differences between the software tools in executing a specific modeling strategy. There was also clear evidence as to the differences in effective strategy transfer when the move was between two constraint-based modelers versus a modeler that did not use a constraint-based modeling process and one that did. This study demonstrated clear differences between the transfer of syntactic and semantic level knowledge from one 3-D modeling system to another. The results of this study also have implications for the design of training and educational programs, pointing to the importance of delineating between software package-dependent and independent skills and knowledge
Assemby Modeling
No full textOver the past decade, several new developments have taken place in the world of computer graphics. These include features-based, parametric solid modeling and assembly modeling. ASsembly modeling and its applications are treated in this paper. The paper begins with an overview that includes basic terminology and applications. Next, assembly constraints are discussed with particular reference to Pro/ENGINEER and Mechanical Desktop, since these CAD software are popular in both academia and industry. Finally, a case study that was conducted at Southwest Texas State University involving the application of assembly modeling and rapid prototyping to tool design is presented to illustrate the principles discussed
New Technologies for Engineering Graphics
Get PDFHistorically, design representation and verification was relegated to engineering drawings and other manual methods that were used to convey information for product design, analysis, and manufacturing. Because of the rapid development and implementation of relatively low cost and extremely powerful computer technology, the methods used to design and engineer products have radically changed. In the face of increased global competition, many industries around the world have adopted a team-oriented concurrent approach using 3-D CAD databases as computer descriptions of part geometry which can be directly applied to engineering design, analysis, and manufacturing (Bertoline, et. al., 1998). Computer technology specifically 3-D solid modeling CAD technology has significantly altered the way in which products are designed from "art to part". The focus of this paper is to provide background information on several new technologies that should be considered for use in engineering graphics courses. The proper use of these technologies and graphics fundamentals in engineering graphics courses should provide engineering students with theoretical and applied knowledge so that they can be successful in today's digital world
Improve Cognitive Visualization with a Web Based Interactive Assessment and Training Program
Get PDFThe ability to visualize objects and situations in one's mind and to manipulate those images is a cognitive skill vital to many career fields, especially those which require work with graphical representations such as visual arts and engineering. Spatial abilities have been widely studied and are known to be fundamental to higher level thinking, reasoning, and creative processes. However, individuals vary widely in these skills. Research on mental imagery has shown that several of the component skills can be improved by training. Although native ability is a factor, there are also several additional variables that have been shown to impact performance. For example, students may have their confidence undermined by the emphasis that our culture places on native ability as opposed to effort. A program that demonstrates to a student that spatial skills CAN be improved should have an impact that goes beyond performance on a specific task. At Penn State Erie a prototype web-based tool to assess and provide training on spatial skills is currently being co-developed by faculty in engineering graphics and cognitive psychology with the help from Penn State's Center of Academic Computing at University Park. The program will first assess three types of spatial skills; then based on the user's scores, it will provide exercises designed to improve that skill. Using a participatory design process, we have a group of psychology and engineering students working in teams to help design and evaluate the learning activities. The program will be first used in the freshman seminar being developed for engineering by the first author, but it would be available to students in a variety of fields. Eventually the program will be made available to high schools and outreach programs to help prepare students interested in fields which require visualization skills
Assessing The Utilization of Virtual LEGO® Blocks within a Group Design Project
Get PDFThe practical application of the philosophies of concurrent engineering stresses the importance of geometric data within design processes. Three-dimensional data generated from computer-aided design (CAD) applications are shared within concurrent engineering models to facilitate design ideation, simulation, prototyping, and production. To help implement this approach to design, Product Data Management (PDM) applications are utilized to control the exchange of critical data. Product data management applications have the ability to manage CAD and other engineering data while facilitating design communication. This paper describes the integration of a PDM focused design project within a sophomore level CAD course. Within this design project, student groups utilized virtual LEGO® blocks to meet specific design requirements. Unlike the traditional use of LEGO toys, blocks were pre-modeled in a CAD system and stored in a PDM application. Groups fabricated their designs within the CAD system’s assembly module. This virtual representation of LEGO blocks was implemented in this manner to simulate the electronic sharing of design data that is typically encountered within a manufacture/vendor relationship. Within the project, students were required to follow a defined design process to include problem identification, ideation, selection, modeling, and simulation. Topics covered within this paper will include: 1) principles of concurrent engineering, 2) PDM capabilities, 3) design project requirements, and 4) student feedback