Visualization in construction science and engineering education

Abstract

With the rising reliability and serviceability of IT technology in recent years, science, engineering, and technology classes have begun to vastly assimilate IT technology as an effective tool for classroom reform. The widening gamut of IT applications has come to include the development of web based "virtual learner-centered classrooms," allowing typical classrooms to reach more extensive student populations. As the archetypal engineering and construction science classroom is highly dependent on the instructor, developing students' critical thinking skills becomes a challenging task for even the most inspired of educators. Nonetheless, these skills are a continual necessity for any student planning to venture into the engineering or construction science profession. Despite the excellence of the various textbooks available for engineering students, the associated rigorous theories and rhetoric make it a tedious academic hurdle for numerous students. However, through the implementation of IT technology, theories are exemplified in a virtual environment - replacing the dullness of written theory with rich multimedia, animation, interactivity, virtual walk-through, and manipulated image visualization. These educational advancements substantially improve students' conceptual understanding. This paper demonstrates various design and construction visualization techniques that would act as critical improvements in the educational sphere of the typical engineering and construction science classrooms. Technologies such as image visualization/ animation, virtual reality image manipulation, design animation, and walk-through virtual navigation are exhibited throughout this paper. These techniques, demonstrated through virtual construction models of steel structures, can potentially be valuable tools not only in the classroom, but also as effective self-directed tools for open learning by facilitating the expansive power of the World Wide Web. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2006.