Infrastructure for Embracing e-Technology in an Academic Department

摘要

The logistics of implementing e-technology in engineering education require investments not only on the physical resources but also on getting all the constituencies involved in the process. At the University of Pittsburgh, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering invested a sizable sum in building a technology classroom to bring the department up to state-of-the-art level in e-instruction. This involved constructing a facility which seats a class of 60 students and providing 31 high-end desktop computers so that every two students can share one machine and participate in interactive learning with the instructor. After the hardware was installed, several more requirements had to be addressed. In a classroom in which students are expected to take courses in a variety of subjects as part of their program of study, software that is relevant to each of the courses must be purchased and site licenses arranged for group use. Instructors must have the requisite skills in e--technology in order to take full advantage of the capabilities of the facility. These include putting course material together in e-deliverable format and the electronic posting of course material and homework assignments. A training program for this must be developed. In order to advance to a level of full immersion in e-technology, educational institutions must have these resources in place.