Development of an open-source concurrent enrollment course that introduces students to the engineering design and documentation process

Abstract

The technology used to generate mechanical drawings has evolved significantly in the last few years. The CAD (Computer Aided Design) software not only provides fast and efficient tools to generate these mechanical drawings, but provides tools for design review and evaluation. The designer of today must understand the design intent and constraint requirements of the part and/or assembly being created. It is critical that these concepts be incorporated into the existing drafting and design course without neglecting the fundamental concepts traditionally taught in this course. Time in the classroom remains constant but the content has increased to include the use of software. Although the technology has evolved significantly, the fundamental principles of drafting and design have not changed. This course was designed to cover the fundamental concepts of drafting and design while incorporating the forward thinking and preplanning of the part and/or assembly required by the new CAD technology. In general, the drafting and design world has undergone drastic technological changes. These changes have had a huge effect on technology and engineering education. The course objectives and assessments at the state level has been a subject of discussion for several years, particularly because of the fast pace change in technology and how it is reshaping the industry. This presentation/paper will explain how the use of online course content and the flipped classroom model was used to increase the amount of material presented in the classroom and enhance the learning and understanding of the student with applied skill development. For the purpose of this course the Curriculum Development Team was composed of selected instructors from across the state to create a web-based book (Portable Document Format and/or eBook) and online course that teaches the principles of drafting and design at the process level to promote curriculum acceptance and implementations from K-12 to Post-Secondary Education. The team members of this project were given the task to teach the underlying basic principles of drafting in generic terms and then supply some supplemental training specific to each CAD software package. This approach treats the specific CAD software as just a tool to learn the process so the student can solve the problem much like a calculator is to math (just a tool, it does not matter if it is a Casio or an HP). The knowledge and application assessments will be process based, not based on specific software. This will provide some freedom or variety between the USHE programs attempting to supply students that are more specific to a certain industry. The team members see this proposal as an opportunity to help solve this problem. One of the major contributions of such a curriculum is that the book will be accessible as online course, which is in accordance with the current state objectives for both the pre-engineering and drafting technology programs. This is unique as this method will provide consistency in content in every school in the state. In other words, every school within the State will be using the same book, objectives, and outcomes for a concurrent enrollment class accepted by every state college/university. There are several benefits for both schools and students while using this online book. One, it will provide information early enough (via a link to higher education path) to those students who are keen to enter a career in an engineering profession early in their education, regardless of their geographic location. Two, this book focuses more on the process therefore concern about the contents being out of date is not an issue. Three, although CAD software is required for this course, however, each lesson applies techniques and skills that are not dependent on the version of the CAD software and any version (release) of that software. The book will be accessible through online course delivery. The entire course was developed around the state objectives for both the pre-engineering and drafting technology programs. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2013.