Page 62 - Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century

Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century
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GUIDEPOSTS TO THE FUTURE 45

Technology-Enabled Learning—
Modularity and Lifelong Learning

The use of information technology-enabled learning (TEL) is in its
early stages (see Falkenburg’s paper in Appendix A). An example of
TEL is the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Edu-
cation (LITEE) project headquartered at Auburn University. LITEE
educators have worked with industry partners to develop a series of case
studies—delivered through CD-ROM “textbooks,” which include
video and audio clips, data sets, photographs, drawings, and anima-
tions that the students choose how to unpack—that deal with current
issues related to design for safety, B2B e-commerce, new product
research and design, and the impact of engineering analysis on eco-
13
nomic outcomes. Rigorous evaluation of the LITEE project has
shown how these technology-enabled cases positively influence
persistence in engineering, development of higher order cognitive skills,
improved communication and teamwork skills, and a better under-
standing of the practice of engineering.
One of the discussion threads of the summit breakouts dealt with
the short “shelf life” of knowledge in today’s world (and what shelf life
might be in 2020). It was asserted that students need to develop the
skills and attitudes that foster lifelong learning and that technology ad-
vances that allow distance and asynchronous learning could be key
enablers to support that learning. The Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology Open Courseware initiative is probably among the best-known
efforts with respect to providing access to engineering content, and the
leadership of the institution should be commended for this bold initia-
tive. However, content is only a small part of the technology-enabled/
lifelong-learning puzzle. Research on Web-mediated learning must con-
tinue so that we can better understand how to utilize the electronic
multimedia approaches to teaching and learning with respect to engi-
neering content knowledge.

13 See http://www.auburn.edu/research/litee/casestudy/index.html. Accessed July 9,

2005.

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