Russel E. Hodges and Jaya Krishnagopalan
School of Engineering &Architecture
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee,
AL 36088
Two multimedia courseware modules developed for enhancing the presentation of engineering concepts in the area of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics are presented. The fluid mechanics module is the first in a series of courseware modules that will go hand in hand with a series of laboratory experiments. The module is arranged to introduce the student to the basic concepts and theoretical information that will be observed in the corresponding lab exercise. An experiment simulation is available in the module to give the student a ``virtual'' hands-on feel for the experiment that will be performed. The student can then conclude by printing a set of notes with appropriate equations and concepts to take to the lab.
The thermodynamics module is the first in a series of courseware modules that will go hand in hand with the classroom instruction. The modules are being developed to correspond to the order in which material is presented in most undergraduate thermodynamics classes. The first module addresses concepts such as units, work, cycles, equilibrium, etc. This module and subsequent modules are arranged to introduce concepts and definitions. The module then concludes with a set of example problems that reinforce the theory and concepts.
Both modules are sequential in nature so that the student finishes one topic and moves to the next via a central menu screen (i.e. kiosk model). Both applications include audio instruction, detailed graphics and detailed animations.
In this paper the development of two multimedia courseware modules developed for enhancing the presentation of engineering concepts in the area of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics are described. The fluid mechanics module is the first in a series of courseware modules that will go hand in hand with a series of laboratory experiments. The module is arranged to introduce the student to the basic concepts and theoretical information that will be observed in the corresponding lab exercise. An experiment simulation is available in the module to give the student a ``virtual'' hands-on feel for the experiment that will be performed. The student can then conclude by printing a set of notes with appropriate equations and concepts to take to the lab. The design of the module is such that it can be used as a template for creating multimedia modules for most any experiment. These modules can then be combined into an integrated package and installed in a network environment to produce a ``virtual'' laboratory for the student to carry out experiments. Unlike the actual experiment, the ``virtual'' experiment can be revisited as many times as desired by the student.
The thermodynamics module is the first in a series of courseware modules designed to supplement the student's classroom instruction. The modules are being developed to correspond to the order in which material is presented in most undergraduate thermodynamics classes. The first module addresses concepts such as units, work, cycles, equilibrium, etc. This module like the fluid mechanics module is designed in such a way that it can be used as a general template for presenting related thermodynamics material.
The order in which material is presented in the fluid mechanics module can be seen in the Main Menu section of Figure 1. This figure is the main menu section of the module where the student selects sections of the experiment. The order of selection proceeds from left to right and top to bottom. Figure 1 shows an introductory information option where qualitative information is introduced. The theoretical information option introduces the pertinent quantitative information associated with the experiment. The experiment option introduces the lab equipment and provides the student a simulator that is a graphical representation of the actual laboratory experiment. The notes option provides a recap of the key qualitative and quantitative information associated with the experiment. The notes option also allows the student to print a hard copy of this relevant information for their own use. This format is flexible enough to support any lab experiment that can be created.
