A Learner-Centered Approach to Industrial Technology Education:A Case Study of a Multimedia Team Project

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a university multimedia team project,taught as a learner-centered alternative and enhancement to a lecture-only traditional approachto industrial technology education. Creation of Flash movies integrated with interdisciplinarycontent can be used not only for student learning in an academic environment, but also fortransfer to the training of the industrial technologist.In a higher education milieu, the prevailing approach to teaching and learning is external. Theprofessor determines what to do to and for the student in order for learning to take place. Theinternal learner-centered approach is to shift the responsibility of learning to the student, so thatthe student becomes the center of the educational process and becomes an active decision-makerby making choices on how his or her learning will take place. The professor's role is transformedto that of a facilitator and supporter of the learning process. This learner-centered educationprepares students for lifelong learning and transferable skill sets.Macromedia Flash, a vector-based animation software, can be used to create multimedialearning objects for the academy, as well as for training in industry. In this case study, graphicsstudents were challenged on how to create organic chemistry molecular structures using Flashanimation. The challenge to the professor was to examine alternative shifts in attitude as to howlearning should take place, and how the presentations should be used in visual and verbalformats for optimal learning.