METSMac-I Conference IT in Engineering Education

Abu Dhabi April 2005

Information Technology in Engineering Education

Fahar G. Hayati Anas N. Ali

Ajman University of Science & Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
ajac.hayati@ajman.ac.ae, enac.anas.n@ajman.ac.ae

ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the application and impact of information technology (IT) on
engineering education, and underlines the extent to which it should be used. The integration
of multimedia in theoretical and laboratory lectures, with emphasis on mathematics and
applied science courses, is thus presented. The required hardware and software infrastructure
to realize such integration are outlined.
In addition, a case study is presented where the theoretical lectures for a particular
engineering course in Ajman University are implemented using one aspect of IT, namely,
multimedia. The study reflects the impact of multimedia on the teaching and learning process,
where statistical results are presented based on a survey conducted on a sample of students.

INTRODUCTION
In the last two decades we have been observing very dramatic changes in the way IT is used
in education. From an “instructor centred education system” approach, emphasis has shifted
so as to give priority to learning [1]. As a consequence, today a “learner centred education
system” has been encouraged that requires instructors to be more involved with motivations
of the learner, rather than the transfer of information.
The teaching of subjects such as mathematics and electronics at college level has been
characterized by a high difficulty of attracting new students, by problems in the learning
process, a great lack of motivations and drop outs [2]. We believe that the integration of IT in
engineering education will alleviate this problem. IT is thus used to enhance the teaching and
learning processes, which will provide a flexible means of education and cuts down costs.
The diversity of components in engineering education requires careful assessment of the
impact of IT on the outcome of these components and the overall impact on the program
outcome. The goals of engineering education should be directed towards graduating an
engineer, who in addition to standard engineering skills, is capable of pursuing independent
life long learning, and interacting actively in an environment with strong expanding
knowledge base.
Some of the challenges facing engineering education are:

 Diverse balanced educational programs to achieve goals.

 Provide the right educational tools and resources.
 Overcome faculty resistance to change.
 Change student’s attitude towards learning.
The question we pose is what can IT provide to meet these challenges?

IT IMPLEMENTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

In general, IT can be integrated in diverse applications regarding engineering education. It can
be used in

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METSMac-I Conference IT in Engineering Education
Abu Dhabi April 2005

 Program management, which could include course delivery, electronic archiving,

student follow-up, and online services.
 Enhancing information resources, such as digital library, on-line courses,
archived lectures and tutorials, etc.
 Supporting teaching, aided with knowledge delivery (smart classroom) and online
courses.
 Assessment and quality assurance.
The infrastructure needed for proper IT implementation in engineering education is:

 Wideband network with supporting software and hardware.

 Multimedia facilities for production and delivery.
 Learning arena in the form of smart classrooms, smart laboratories, etc.
 Adequate supplies of IT-based computer-aided resources.

MULTIMEDIA IN THEORETICAL-LABORATORY COURSES

It is seen that text, simulations, animations, videos, images, and sound can facilitate better
visualization and comprehension of theory [3]. Having said that, an appropriate IT tool used
in implementing theoretical and laboratory courses is multimedia. Some engineering courses,
namely, mathematics and applied science courses, are well presented and explained through
the use of multimedia.
Multimedia-based courses require classrooms with network-enabled laptop computers having
access to the Intranet and the Internet. The lectures are presented electronically with
multimedia enriched slides. Websites can also exist to disseminate lecture material,
assignments and updates, which will enable students to access information synchronously
(anywhere, anytime) outside the lecture room [3]. The CD-ROM accompanied with the
course textbook can also be used as a supplement in the teaching and learning process.
The benefits of multimedia-based courses are:

 Improved quality of teaching and learning, where information is presented in a

variety of ways. This introduces flexibility for both teachers and learners.
 Course contents are adaptable and thus easy to update.
 Provides stimulating interactive learning environments for students and
instructors alike.
 Facilitates collaborative learning and teamwork.
The degree of multimedia integration in laboratories may differ from basic labs to advanced
ones. We believe that more multimedia should be incorporated in first and second year
laboratory courses, where basic science topics are involved.
The hardware and software infrastructure needed for multimedia-based labs are:

 Computers with multimedia peripherals (19-inch displays, DVD players, web

cams, etc.), with broadband access to the Intranet and the Internet.
 Multimedia-based materials of virtual experiments (DVDs, video files, Java
applets, Macromedia Flash clips, etc.).
 Simulation software packages (Matlab, Multisim, LabView, etc.).
In addition to conducting the physical part of an experiment, a session in a multimedia-based
lab can include simulation of experiments via software packages. Also, experiment
demonstrations via video clips, Macromedia Flash clips, and web-based Java applets can be
included.

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METSMac-I Conference IT in Engineering Education
Abu Dhabi April 2005

The advantages of multimedia-based labs are:

 Experiment verification via simulation and video demonstrations.

 The feasibility of implementing difficult experiments that require expensive
hardware.
 Service to on-line universities and the creation of an environment where students
can access the lab "any time, anywhere".
 Institutions can rely on the expertise of other consortium members to create labs
in fields in which they may not have current expertise.
 Laboratories can be made safer for the students reducing university liability
concerns about experiments involving lasers, toxic materials, etc.
Having mentioned the importance of multimedia-based labs, we consider such labs as a
complement to a department's laboratory curriculum, and not as replacement of all 'in-person'
labs.
For multimedia to be incorporated in courses and laboratories, it becomes imperative to have
multimedia authoring facilities within the faculty. This can be realized by having an IT
department, whose functions include the authoring of multimedia materials for various
courses, and to train instructors and students on how to efficiently use, produce, and
deliverIT.

CASE STUDY

In this paper, a case study is presented where multimedia is used to implement the lectures of
course 233201 Engineering Materials, which is offered to second year students at Ajman
University. The study also shows the impact of this implementation on the student’s learning
ability. 233201 is a fundamental course that introduces different types of materials with their
respective mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties. The main objective of this
course is to enable students to select the best material for the appropriate engineering
application. Hence, introductory courses, like this one, are a good example of the effective
use of multimedia.
Multimedia usage in course 233201 comes in the form of lecture implementation via
PowerPoint presentations. Each presentation slide contains text, graphics, animation, and
video clips, as depicted in Figure (1). In addition, the textbook CD-ROM is also used as a
supplement to the teaching and learning processes. A lecture session may also include
viewing of DVD documentary films related to the course topics to further broaden the
student’s knowledge spectrum.

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METSMac-I Conference IT in Engineering Education
Abu Dhabi April 2005

Figure (1) An electronic slide showing multimedia contents.

To determine the impact of multimedia integration in such a course, a survey was conducted
on 50 students, and feedback was obtained via a questionnaire (see attachment) designed to
measure the learning abilities of students through the use of multimedia. The results of the
survey can be summarized as follows:
90
 81% preferred multimedia-based 80
81

lectures over conventional 70

lectures [seeFigure (2)]. 60
 71% agree that multimedia 50
increased the student’s learning

%
40
abilities. 30
 79% agree that multimedia eases 20 15
lecture follow-up. 10 4
 73% find multimedia interesting 0
and entertaining. Agree Disagree None

 83% say that too much Figure (2) Bar chart result of multimedia usage
information is given per lecture. usage.

Although the study was carried out on a limited sample, it is clear from the results that the
effect of multimedia is significant. Unfortunately, a comparison was not made with students
taking the course via conventional means.

CONCLUSIONS
The implementation and impact of IT in engineering education has been presented. This paper
has emphasized on the integration of IT in theoretical and laboratory courses. The paper has
also presented a case study where IT was integrated in one engineering course in Ajman
University. We can conclude that:

 Integration of IT in engineering education does enhance the teaching abilities of

instructors and the learning abilities of students.
 The case study presented is still in its initial stages and further development is
needed.
 The proper usage of IT needs more research on how to best apply it.
 Instructors and students need to be trained on how to efficiently use, produce, and
deliverIT.
 IT in education is growing.

REFERENCES

1. E. Inelmen, E-Mentoring: a Novel Approach in the Use of Technology in

Education. Proc. 5th International Conf. on IT Based Higher Educ. & Training,
Istanbul 2004. (page 183-186).
2. C. Pais, V. Pires, R. Amaral, J. Amaral, J. Martins, C. Luz, & O.P. Dias, A
Strategy to Improve Engineering Teaching Process Based on an E-Learning
Approach. Proc. 5th International Conf. on IT Based Higher Educ. & Training,
Istanbul 2004. (page 227-230).
3. M.S. Zywno, W.J.G. Brimley, & W.E. White, Effective Integration of
Multimedia Courseware in Engineering Education at Ryerson Polytechnic
University. Proc. 3rd UICEE Annual Conf. on Engng. Educ., 2000. (page 25-34).

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