A Blended Course in Mechanical Engineering

The 15th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on ONLINE LEARNING

Orlando, Florida, October 28 - 30, 2009

Isabel S. Carvalho

IDMEC, University of Porto, PortoLisbon Engineering Institute, Lisbon

Portugal

Course description

Methodology / Contents / Activities / …..

Online & F2F integration

Overall view

Final Remark

Structure

Can course contents be made interesting and

appealing and of practical application?

YES

?

Course Characteristics

1st year MSc, Mechanical Engineering

F2F classes – 4,5 hours / week

2 different groups of students (Day / Evening)

Cover a Huge Syllabus

1 semester = approx. 15 weeks

Course Information - Syllabus, Resources,

Activities, etc. – in English (online)

Energy Production and Management

to provide a wide choice of activities and opportunities for student learning

to introduce and motivate students with Problem Based Learning approaches

to assist students in “learning how to learn”

to promote collaborative learning and teaching to increase the students’ engagement and responsibility in the learning process

Methodology / Contents

Positive interdependence (in class and online)

F2F promotive interaction (in class – coop. & collab.)

Individual accountability/personal responsibility (in class and outside class)

Teamwork skills (in class)

Group processing (in class and outside class)

Methodology / Activities

Smith et al. (2005). Pedagogies of Engagement: Classroom-Based Practices. J. Engng. Education, January, 87-101.

Online Environment

http://edu2.moonlight.pt/admin - Login & Password

EnergyCourses (Syl.)Res. & Mat.ActivitiesSem & Field TripsEvaluation

Energy Production and Management

MenuCourses Resources & Materials

CourseSyllabus

ContactsObjectivesDescriptionLearning outcomesGetting started – LMSECTS.... pdf

Resources & MaterialsFiles for download

ReportsWorking files (.XLS)

Links (National & International)Simulators (F2F)

http://edu2.moonlight.pt/admin

Online Environment

Picciano, A.G. (2006). Blended Learning: Implications for growth and access. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 10,(3).

Students meet f2f-Teacher uses simpleTechnology such as email, or web for e-lectures

Students meet online-Teacher uses simpleTechnology such as LMS, Discussion Forum

Students meet f2f-Teacher uses Technology such as simulations, tutorials, Digital video

Students meet online-Teacher uses advancedTechnology such asInteractive video conf.

Online

Tech Low

Tech High

F2F

Online and F2F

Activities and Assignments

Long term (Course Project 1 - Individual)

Long term (Course Project 2 - Team Work)

Short term in-class activities (group)

Short term online activities (group / individual)

In-class activities integrated with online feedback

PBL & Open ended problems

Field Trips

Seminars / Invited Speakers

News Forum

Activities and Assignments

Course Project 1 – Energy Audit

Individual

Whole Semester

Introduction (objectives and resources)

Examples and Case Studies; Online Simulators

XLS file / daily readings

Mid-Term Evaluation (ev)

Final presentation + Report (ev)

Course Project 2 – Team Work

Groups of 2 - 4

Online Collaborative Work (2 or 3 tasks / week)

Support bibliography and rich / high quality URLs

Peer-to-Peer Review (ev)

Final presentation in a Seminar like format (ev)

Final Report (ev)

Activities and Assignments

In Class Outside Class

QuizzesExercisesAccess to Learning Resources (controlled)PowerPoint PresentationsCD-ROMCase Studies (real world)Debates (moderated)

ReadingExercisesAccess to Learning Resources (free)Field TripsMeasuringCase Characterisation and MonitoringDo your own calculations !Interviews

Student – Content

Activity and Interactivity Map

Student-Teacher Student-Peers

In-person

Email

Assignments and Reports with feedback

Online discussion (Forum)

Formative and summative evaluations

Small group quizzes

Small group exercises

Sidebar discussions

Online (Forum)

Peer review (in class and online)

Activity and Interactivity Map

Online and F2F

Overall View

Kick-off phase - motivation SMS

In-class and online integration

Rules and Deadlines

Feedback

Engagement and Focusing

Align content with engaging activities Design activities for interaction among learners

Information management

Establishment of check-points to secure the achievement of the main objectives

Online and In-class support sessions

Guidance and mid-term evaluations

Required interaction between learner and teacher / tutor

Workload versus Grades

Overall View

Larger pool of ideas

Healthier learning environment

Accomplish more in less time

Interaction between students encourages more and better learning

Increases motivation; flexible communication schedules; easy contact with lecturer and peers

Allows questions, reflection and corrections

Possibility to teach others and share personal exp.

Hard work; time consuming; information management

Student’s View

• Move on from Spoon - fed towards self-feeding (independent learning).... and the students enjoy it!

• Work non-technical /soft skills – formal and informal writing, communication and presentation skills, reflective thinking, creativity, synthesis, information management, strutured thinking, etc.

• Increase student / teacher interactivity and relationship more responsible.

• Evolved from a content expert to a content validator (Joan D. McMahon)

Lecturer’s View

Students make strong connections between concepts when they learn facts and skills by actively working with information rather than by passively receiving information.

Establishment of check-points to secure the achievement of the main objectives.

Learning by doing.... and enjoying it!

Willing to teach others

...MULTIPLIER EFFECT

Final Remark

Flexibility

Fairness

Objective / Subjective

Continuous / Final

Process / Product

Individual versus Team

....

Assessment - What? When? How?

Resources and Materials in English

Include students in ongoing Projects and Coop.

Real World Cases (in-class and outside)

Invited speakers; Field Trips; Interaction with society; case studies

International / Global approaches

Content; Intl. Survey; EU vs USA; News Forum

Communication skills

High/Low; Direct or Indirect; Formal or Informal;Written and Verbal

Educating the “Global Engineer”

THANK YOU !

icarvalho@moonlight.pt