Going Online with Statics

Sheryl Sorby, Carl Vilmann
2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings   unpublished
Statics is a foundational course found in engineering programs across the country. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University developed an online version of Statics that is freely available over the web. The materials include text material, animations, film clips, self-assessments and many other features thought to improve student understanding and motivation. The materials have been utilized in studies across the country, but always in conjunction with
more » ... itional classroom sessions. In this study, we have attempted to offer a fullyonline version of the statics course. The instructor was available for one-hour per week to answer questions in a face to face meeting, but students worked through the statics topics from the online materials on their own and completed quizzes associated with each of the 18 modules available. To assess the effectiveness of this teaching method, the Statics Concept Inventory was administered to the students in the online course as well as to those in a "traditional" statics course, taught by an experienced professor both pre-and post-course. Common questions on exams were administered for students in the online and traditional courses as well as a fully common final exam. At the end of the semester, students in the online course were given an attitudinal survey regarding their feelings in taking a fully online course. Results from these assessments will be presented in this paper.
doi:10.18260/1-2--18033 fatcat:j7giyyk5tffhbpg6xpg34l5vcy