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Session 3150

EXPERIENCE with the INTRODUCTION OF MULTIMEDIA INTO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, Mechanics of Materials Laboratory

Salvatore A. Marsico Penn Sate University

Abstract

The Penn State Associate Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology program offers a two course sequence in mechanics of materials, one of which is a laboratory course (MCH T 214). The educational objectives of this one credit course, as described in the Penn State Associate Degree Programs Bulletin, are “measurement of mechanical properties of materials; structural testing; data acquisition and analysis; technical report writing.” Components of this course were revised to incorporate multimedia software into the laboratory experience. For the first time students were given an opportunity to integrate communications software, online web research, photo and video software, spreadsheet software, word processing, and presentation software. Accomplishments and future goals in the evolution of this course are discussed.

Introduction

The Associate in Mechanical Engineering Technology degree candidate arrives with a set of expectations that this program will provide them with state of the art training. As with many institutions, maintaining state of the art laboratories is quite expensive, virtually impossible to maintain, and is even more challenging for a campus that is one of many. Penn State University has a number of campuses geographically dispersed throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Penn State/Wilkes-Barre is one of those campuses.

It is financially difficult for these campuses to keep pace with the technological changes as it relates to laboratory equipment. The financial burden placed on many technology programs forces these programs to adapt and modify courses to reflect the state of technology training at the laboratory level. This is where my perspective is from: utilizing state of the technology laboratory equipment with state of technology software to make the laboratory experience memorable. It is the goal of any lab exercise to explore ways to improve the next version.

This paper will discuss the experiences that occurred during an offering of the Mechanics of Materials Laboratory at Penn State/Wilkes-Barre. The paper will present an overview of how the software packages were integrated, discuss how students prepared for the lab exercise, and discuss suggestions for future versions of the course. Finally, the paper will

Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2001, American Society for Engineering Education

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Marsico, S. (2001, June), Experience With The Introduction Of Multimedia Into Mechanical Engineering Technology, Mechanics Of Materials Laboratory Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9255