The evolution and evaluation of an interactive engineering design teaching tool : MIT's EDICS

For this thesis, I refined and tested a computer-based engineering teaching tool called EDICS. EDICS (Engineering Design Instructional Computer Program) has proven to be a fun and intriguing means of conveying a wide variety of engineering design subjects to undergraduate students. The core audience of EDICS was assumed to be undergraduate engineering students who lacked the practical experience of manipulating common mechanical components and devices. It has been discovered, though, that EDICS is a useful tool for nearly all types of engineering students at many different levels of experience. The testing of EDICS was carried out by having students study either short excerpts from the program or similar subjects covered either in a popular textbook or a booklet, then testing their knowledge retention by subjecting them to a short, written exam. The subjects that were studied were: transmissions, fastening and joining techniques, and engineering drawing and drafting. The results of this evaluation show that in the subjects of transmissions and fastening and joining, students who used EDICS to study performed significantly better than those who studied using paper-based materials. In the subject of engineering drawing and drafting, the students using EDICS scored, on average, better than the students using the paper-based materials, but the difference was found to be not statistically significant.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Jimenez, Craig Edward

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David Gordon Wilson.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35669

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35669