Technology education e-learning model: The South Carolina partnership

Abstract

Recently, there has been a steadily growing movement for a more mobile and self-paced education such as that received in virtual E-Schools. To most, this is an attractive option as it allows the flexibility of holding a day job, traveling, supporting a family and advancing one's education all in unison. However, few of these programs have focused on STEM education. Meeting this need, a synergistic partnership in South Carolina has emerged to create an National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) regional center for aviation and automotive education aptly named CA 2VES (Center for Aviation and Automotive Technology Education using Virtual E-Schools). The CA2VES initiative is designed to meet workforce needs demanded by the more than 200 automotive-related and 160 aviation-related companies in South Carolina. As these companies drive the demand, the South Carolina Partnership agrees that they should also influence the Aviation and Automotive (A2) curriculum. Therefore, the new Technology Education ELearning Model proposed will focus on the involvement of industry during the development and assessment of A2 curriculum to generate a workforce that is prepared to meet the requirements of regional A2 companies. Additionally, CA2VES will work to introduce new visualization and simulation tools (virtual reality, 3-D, etc) for next generation technologies to enhance personalized learning. Industrial collaborators, however, are merely one component of this strong partnership. The CA2VES enterprise will bring together a South Carolina four-year institution, ten South Carolina two-year institutions, several South Carolina K-12 education partners, and three well recognized regional ATE center partners in the country. CA2VES will aim to disseminate curriculum and faculty development materials for two-year institutions, disseminate recruitment materials to high-school and career centers, and hold webinars to provide information about ongoing center activities. These efforts will culminate in creating a SC-A2 network (and later a national network) for the advancement of aviation and automotive technology education. This paper will discuss South Carolina's aviation and automotive industry workforce needs, the need for E-Learning and the role of CA2VES, the center's goals and objectives, and the virtual reality (VR) module development component of CA 2VES. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.