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Show THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EXPERTS ON TEACHING Felix R. DeSiena Debra Mascaro 148 REINVENTING THE LECTURE: CREATING MULTIFUNCTIONAL INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA CONTENT FOR UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENTS Felix R. DeSiena (Debra Mascaro) Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Utah Research suggests that active-learning techniques excel in the development of higher-order cognitive skills, specifically in the study of engineering and the physical sciences. Unfortunately, active-learning models often require a prohibitive amount of educator resources, and are therefore relegated to a small component of a lecture-based course design. During recent years, Interactive Multimedia (IMM) has emerged as a cost-effective and flexible active-learning tool, and research confirms that modern students are particularly receptive to this form of electronic course content. Building on these foundations, w e propose a multifunctional content design model which can efficiently convert existing static lecture materials into a set of software modules that provide dynamic lecture demonstrations, portable multimedia reference materials, and interactive homework assignments. These modules are similar to traditional static presentation materials in most respects, but offer vastly-improved functionality through the real-time simulation of dynamic physical systems. Our project consisted of three primary phases: the initial phase focused on constructing modules to simulate basic mechanical systems using an arbitrary IMM format; the secondary phase focused on integrating modules into existing lecture presentations; and the final phase focused on developing additional multimedia content for online applications including video tutorials and guided study modules. To assess this design model w e examined the acquisition, development, and implementation procedures and compared these to traditional presentation and demonstration methods. Our findings demonstrate that this design model offers diverse IMM course content at a competitive resource cost. W e suggest that future models be improved through the development of additional technical guidelines to ensure that educators select software platforms that match their o w n modeling and computational resources. Educators should also choose an online multimedia development strategy consistent with the hosting resources and branding of their respective institutions. Future research in this area should examine additional software platforms and implementation strategies with an emphasis on simplifying the development and integration of IMM content. m D DQ rolling f rlctlor. test 2 ot 4 IMM Mooul» Tutorio Video 4vriews .... |