Catalyst: A computer-aided teaching tool for stayed and suspended systems.

摘要

The use of computers as media for teaching has been a success in many disciplines. The integration of complex theories into a program that is independent of support as the stages progress has been solved to a great level. 'Structures' has always been a subject which many students tend to address as uninteresting and hard to understand. The goal of the thesis is to author a CD-ROM for computer-aided teaching design of Stayed and Suspended structures. The final product will be a comprehensive CD-ROM containing theories that deal with span to depth ratios, the different kinds of cables, system design, vector analysis method of force/stress calculation, hints, development guidelines for the study of stayed and suspension structures. The same will be demonstrated as a multimedia presentation with a great level of user control.; To facilitate ease of use and to maintain simple navigational control, the application has been authored using Macromedia Director. The pedagogical aspect of structures demands the need to have explanatory diagrams, 1 examples or precedents and elaborate steps while designing or analyzing a scheme. It is desirable to illustrate each precedent with emphasis on construction process, type of system employed and analytical issues. In case of Stayed and Suspended systems, demonstrating the workability and elementary analytical issues are ideal media for comprehension.