Enhancing a mechatronics distance learning course through the Internet and Web 2.0 technologies
Gan Wai-chuen
Open University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China
Philip Tsang
Caritas Francis Hsu College
Hong Kong SAR, China
Mechatronics is a newly developed multi-disciplinary engineering subject which includes electronics, mechanical, computer and manufacturing engineering. Students sometimes find it difficult to master this subject because of its wide-ranging content and up-to-date engineering knowledge. In addition, presenting it in a distance learning mode introduces another potential problem for students because of the limited number of face-to-face meetings at which they can discuss any queries they have with their tutor and classmates.
In the last decade, multimedia and Web teaching, group discussion forums and video-sharing websites have developed rapidly. When used appropriately, these new technologies can help to increase students’ interest in studying mechatronics, and remove the geographical and time barriers for distance learners. This paper discusses the use of new technology, mainly the Internet, to enhance a mechatronics distance learning course and analyses the outcomes of studying it with and without the technology input.
The technology enhancements were as follows:
First, the Online Learning Environment (OLE) developed by the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) was introduced. This allows students to post questions about the course to the discussion forum 24 hours a day, using text, mathematical equations, graphics and videos; and their classmates, the tutors and the course coordinator can then post answers/comments online without time limitations. In the past, students’ progress in learning was often slowed down because, to ask questions, they had to wait until they had a face-to-face tutorial or a one-to-one ‘surgery’ session with their tutors.
Second, multimedia has been used in the course, with students being required to submit as an assignment a PowerPoint file with voice files inserted. With this experience, which helps to enhance students’ presentation and interpersonal skills, they can give more presentable answers in subsequent assignments.
Third, the Internet has been employed to raise students’ interest in understanding the practical value of engineering problems. For example, the course includes an interesting problem -- the ‘Traveling Salesman Problem’ (TSP), which involves finding the shortest routes to many cities. If students read the materials in the text box, they just recognize that this is a very difficult, time-consuming problem, and are not aware of its history and importance. However, when the TSP website, http://www.tsp.gatech.edu/index.html, was sent to the students via email, they could understand how and why mathematicians dedicated time to solving this question and also learned the practical applications such as fibre optics connection and semiconductor test scan vectors. After reading this website, a student even discovered how to optimize the product delivery route for his Hong Kong company by using TSP solution methods. Overall, the Internet and its search engines can solve the problem of outdated information in general textbooks, especially in a multi-disciplinary area such as mechatronics.
Finally, video-share Web technology such as YouTube helped to enhance teaching and learning. In the course, there are several open-ended mechatronics system design questions, one of which asks students to design an auto-parking system car. In the past, students were unable to give satisfactory answers since they did not know about auto-parking cars and the parking procedures. However, with the help of YouTube, they were able to find auto-parking car videos from BMW, Toyota, Lexus and Volkswagen which described the procedures in detail and addressed safety issues. This gave the students a reference point for proposing their own solutions and their performance on this design question improved greatly.
In summary, the inherent limitations in teaching mechatronics in a distance learning mode can be alleviated or resolved by using newly developed technologies and this leads to a significant improvement in student learning.