STRENGTHENING ONLINE EDUCATIONAL CAPABILITIES
AT SDSU'S CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

a. Cover Sheet

b. Project Summary

c. Table of Contents

d. Project Description (15 pages)

The world wide web has changed the way people live, work and play. Most people have now become accustomed to using the web for a variety of applications, which only ten years ago would have been considered next to impossible. Industry has made use of the web in an effective way; the proof are the dotcom companies which have emerged in recent years. Governments and academia are also moving steadily towards making a more effective use of the web. Yet, intensive use of the web for diverse and complex applications is just beginning in education, particularly in higher education.

Areas were improvement are urgently needed are the following:

    Web-based learning.

  1. Web-based critical thinking and analysis.

  2. Web-based testing and design.

  3. Web-based communications.
The proposed project seeks to develop the means to eventually reform the Civil and Environmental curriculum at San Diego State University. The reform will be focused on increasing effective web-based exposure of students and faculty.

The project team is composed of six faculty members in the Department, in the areas of Water Resources, Geotechnical, Environmental and Structural Engineering. They have agreed to cooperate to accomplish the following broad objectives:

    To examine the suitability and adaptability of legacy course materials to web-based work, and to develop new course materials that can be readily adapted to web-based learning.

  1. To plan and develop web-based applications in selected courses, with aim to increase the exposure of students to online critical thinking and analysis.

  2. To search for, and if necessary, to develop new online testing and design tools that can be used to enhance the content of current courses.

  3. To develop effective ways of enhancing the learning experience through online communication of faculty, staff, and students, for frequent consultation, homework, and exams, including replacing the conventional homework and exam for an online experience.

To start, the principal investigators will select two courses each, one undergraduate and one undergraduate/graduate, to review the course materials for web-based suitability. The materials will be reviewed in light of new developments, both online and offline, which can be used to enhance the course content in the new curriculum. Specific emphasis will be placed on identifying a set of problems, including analysis and design, which can be readily expressed in static and dynamic web content.

The principal investigators will search for and select specific examples of critical thinking and analysis, where web-based applications can be implemented. An example of such work is the recently developed website at http://onlinechannel.sdsu.edu, where users can run open-channel hydraulics problems online.

To accomplish the project objectives, the following tasks are envisioned:

  1. Development of online course materials.

  2. Development of online problems and applications.

  3. Development of online tests.

  4. Development of online bulletin boards.
The following tools will be used to develop the online applications:
  1. HTML

  2. XHTML

  3. CSS

  4. PHP

  5. MathML

  6. CGI/PERL

  7. Photoshop

  8. Corel Draw

  9. MySQL

  10. Open GL Inventor

  11. Dreamwaver

  12. AutoCAD

  13. Arc VIEW

  14. ArcGIS

  15. GRASS

  16. Fireworks

  17. ImageMagick
Other tools will be adopted in the course of the research and implementation.

Each of the principal investigators will select two courses, one undergraduate, and one undergraduate/graduate, to overhaul the course content and materials based on the new emphasis on online applications. The following courses will be targeted:

  1. Applied Hydrology

  2. Open-channel Hydraulics

  3. Soil Mechanics

  4. Engineering Problem Analysis

  5. Engineering Statistics

  6. Water and Wastewater Engineering

  7. Solid Waste Engineering

  8. Environmental Engineering

 

e. References Cited

f. Biographical Sketches

g. Budget

h. Current and Pending Support

i. Facilities and Equipment and Other Resources

j. Special Information and Supplementary Documentation