An Introductory BIM Course for Engineering Students

Building Information Modelling is being adopted worldwide and universities are thus expected to provide the market with new professionals with BIM knowledge and skills. However, introduction of this theme into the curriculum can be challenging to teaching staff. Having successful implementation examples can help carrying on this task. This paper presents the structure, syllabus, adopted tools and activities of an introductory BIM course offered to first-year engineering students. Implemented with only 2 credits, it covers BIM fundamental concepts and develops collaboration skills and abilities with BIM software tools. It was effectively deployed on big classes and successfully offered both in face-to-face and remote modes, adopting a practice focus. An innovative organization for student group projects was adopted, enabling student participation on several projects, performing a different role in each one. Perceived benefits to students' development are reported. The covid-19 pandemics impact is discussed. Future improvements in the course are suggested. Overall results achieved were considered very good. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Video material for self-study in mathematics and physics courses: from design to evaluation

This Innovative Practice Work-In-Progress article describes the implementation of video material in undergraduate mathematics and physics courses for engineering and computer science students. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to provide online material to which students can return whenever their technical and temporal resources allow. A similar need has long existed among students who support themselves by working part- or even full-time while studying towards a degree. This student group is well represented at our institution as access and outreach initiatives target professionals with vocational training in a technical field. The didactic concept of the videos as well as didactic opportunities for face-to-face lecturing in combination with online video material will be described. Students' responses to the innovative practice were surveyed in two ways: first, through an online questionnaire administered to students of an introductory physics course. The questionnaire data is subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis in this article, with results leading to an indication of high student satisfaction. Second, students' experience as gathered from group interviews with students from a first-year mathematics course will be analysed. Collectively, this information sheds light on the advantages of the practice presented as well as on further improvements. © 2022 IEEE.

Telegram Messenger for Supporting Educational Process Under the Conditions of Quarantine Restrictions

The article is devoted to the problem of using Telegram messenger in the educational process in supporting the higher school under the conditions of forced quarantine restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Modern messengers (Telegram, Viber, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp) are analyzed via pre-defined criteria (commerciality, functionality, architecture, security) and the range of indicators, the benefits of using Telegram messenger to support the educational process are outlined. The essence, benefits, and possibilities of using Telegram ChatBot are characterized. The main steps for creating Telegram ChatBot are described. Recommendations are provided to improve the pedagogical effect of using Telegram ChatBots. The analysis of results of educational interaction via Telegram messenger is presented (112 students’ survey, evaluation of learning outcomes in experiment (112 students) and control (110 students) groups). The empirical research has shown that Telegram messenger allowed supporting the educational process in the conditions of unexpected and forced quarantine restrictions, with no loss of qualitative indicators, achieving the pedagogical goals. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Teaching from Multiple Angles: Aligning the Teaching Materials and Activities with Preferred Learning Styles of the Students

In this case study, student groups in three Civil Engineering courses (i.e., Statics, Dynamics, and Fluid Mechanics) are surveyed to identify the dominant learning preferences of each group. The survey of the student groups in this study shows that visual, sensing, active, and sequential learning are the most dominant learning preferences in each study group. The teaching materials and activities for these courses are revised to align with the identified learning preferences of each group respectively. The impact of these revisions on the final exam (summative assessment) performance of the groups and Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) scores is measured. The preliminary results show some improvement in the final exam performances and SEEQ scores compared to the previous two years. The COVID effect in Fall 2020 and 2021, as well as relatively small group sizes, undermine the reliability of the results. More data from larger group sizes and without the impact of extraordinary factors such as pandemic is expected to be collected in the following years to supplement the results and achieve a conclusion with higher confidence. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

An Introductory BIM Course for Engineering Students

Building Information Modelling is being adopted worldwide and universities are thus expected to provide the market with new professionals with BIM knowledge and skills. However, introduction of this theme into the curriculum can be challenging to teaching staff. Having successful implementation examples can help carrying on this task. This paper presents the structure, syllabus, adopted tools and activities of an introductory BIM course offered to first-year engineering students. Implemented with only 2 credits, it covers BIM fundamental concepts and develops collaboration skills and abilities with BIM software tools. It was effectively deployed on big classes and successfully offered both in face-to-face and remote modes, adopting a practice focus. An innovative organization for student group projects was adopted, enabling student participation on several projects, performing a different role in each one. Perceived benefits to students’ development are reported. The covid-19 pandemics impact is discussed. Future improvements in the course are suggested. Overall results achieved were considered very good. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

COVID-19 pandemic affected on coffee beverage decision and consumers' behavior

The objective research was to study the transformation of the coffee consumption behavior of coffee drinkers and factors affecting the coffee consumption behavior before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because coffee is a famous beverage among university student groups. Therefore, we want to know the coffee consumption behavior and aspects of coffee drinkers such as the time most people need to consume coffee, the price, and the amount of coffee consumed each day. Both before and during the pandemic. To benefit those who are interested in studying coffee and as a guide for decision making in the business development of coffee shop operators. The sample used in this study is 407 students at the University of Thailand who consume coffee. The questionnaire was used to collect data for surveys of coffee consumption behavior. The study results revealed that consumer behavior has changed in coffee drinking patterns, health effects, and budgets for coffee purchases have decreased. Including the amount of coffee consumed on average per day by consumers, slightly increased from before the pandemic. © 2022 IEEE.

Emergence of Polarization and Marginalization in Online Education System of Bangladesh Due to COVID-19: Challenges and Policies to Ensure Inclusive Education

Before COVID-19, online learning was almost non-existent in the educational institutions of Bangladesh. Unavailability of Internet and proper devices among the students, lack of training, and the unwillingness of the institutions in integrating a new way of providing education were the main reasons behind the less prevalence of online education in Bangladesh. Due to their lack of experience, design policies, and infrastructural incapacity, educational institutions struggled enormously to make the transition to online learning from face-to-face teaching during this ongoing pandemic. Primary and secondary educational institutions are the major victims of this hasty transformation. Although universities in Bangladesh are trying to continue their regular academic curriculum, the real scenario is far from perfect. To understand the problems of the online education system of Bangladeshi universities, we conducted a survey among 184 students. The user responses were analyzed in two different ways: unsupervised clustering that revealed socio-economic polarization among the students;and feature specific statistical analysis that identified the emerging marginal student groups. Our analysis shows that the factors behind the polarization and marginalization of students include locality, living conditions, primary device for attending class, Internet connectivity etc. Based on these factors, we lay out an inclusive design policy with three action plans that would reduce the polarization and marginalization of university students in online education.

DESIGN, MODELING, AND FABRICATION OF A VENTILATOR PROTOTYPE - A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT PROJECT STORY

In this work, we use a group project approach for a group of undergraduate students to design and develop a mechanical ventilator, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A student group project composed of a team of undergraduate students has successfully designed and fabricated a mechanical bag valve mask (BVM) ventilator prototype. It is lightweight with a single controller is driven, capable of volume adjustment, inexpensive, open-source, and designed for ease of fabrication, installation, and operation by the average user. The ventilator prototype also consists of 3D printed components and stored bought hardware. A finite element model was developed to analyze the deformation of the bag valve mask. Finally, the ventilator system is fully tested functioning properly. Copyright © 2021 by ASME.

Transition of an Interactive, Hands-on Learning Tool to a Virtual Format in the Covid-19 Era

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic necessitated the transition of courses across the United States from in-person to a virtual format. Effective delivery of traditional, lecture-based courses in an online setting can be difficult and determining how to best implement hands-on pedagogies in a virtual format is even more challenging. Interactive pedagogies such as hands-on learning tools, however, have proven to significantly enhance student conceptual understanding and motivation;therefore, it is worthwhile to adapt these activities for virtual instruction. Our team previously developed a number of hands-on learning tools called Low-Cost Desktop Learning Modules (LCDLMs) that demonstrate fluid mechanics and heat transfer concepts-traditionally utilized by student groups in a classroom setting, where they perform qualitative and quantitative experiments and interactively discuss conceptual items. In this paper we examined the transition of the LCDLM hands-on pedagogy to an entirely virtual format, focusing on a subset of results with greater detail to be shown at the ASEE conference as we analyze additional data. To aid the virtual implementations, we created a number of engaging videos under two major categories: (1) demonstrations of each LCDLM showing live data collection activities and (2) short, animated, narrated videos focused on specific concepts related to learning objectives. In this paper we present preliminary results from pre- and post- implementation conceptual assessments for the hydraulic loss module and motivational surveys completed for virtual implementations of LCDLMs and compare them with a subset of results collected during hands-on implementations in previous years. Significant differences in conceptual understanding or motivation between hands-on and virtual implementations are discussed. This paper provides useful, data-driven guidance for those seeking to switch hands-on pedagogies to a virtual format. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

Different Zoom Breakout Room Methods and Techniques' Effects on Engineering Students' Learning Outcomes for Engineering Courses

The Zoom application has become increasingly popular for online and hybrid teaching since the COVID-19 pandemic started in the spring of 2020. However, Zoom cannot simply replace all of the teaching techniques traditionally used during in-person lectures. In particular, student group problem solving and discussion is often replaced with a virtual version via the Zoom breakout room feature. This paper will investigate the effectiveness of these breakout rooms on student performance in engineering courses. A variety of breakout room strategies were conducted over the course of the fall 2020 semester in four engineering classes. Students were surveyed at the end of the semester to determine what strategies/factors most improved their individual comfort level, group productivity, and ability to learn the material. The results of this paper indicate that having small breakout room groups (i.e., 2-3 students), assigning specific tasks to the groups and individual students, and visiting the breakout rooms periodically have the most positive impact on the student's perception of the session. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

University students' fully digital study of mathematics: An identification of student-groups via their resources usage and a characterization by personal and affective characteristics

We investigated university students' study of mathematics in the digital setting context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We gathered data from a survey of 89 students enrolled in a 'Linear Algebra 1' course including affective variables, learning strategies, social relatedness and resources considered useful. The results indicate students' high effort and self-regulation and a high variation in affective characteristics and social relatedness. All the traditional aspects of mathematics teaching (lecture, tutorials and lecture notes) were rated as particularly useful. In addition, the videos from external resources were rated as equally useful as the teaching team's videos. In contrast, traditional literature such as textbooks was rarely considered useful. The most useful resource rated was communication with peers, underlining the important role of social learning despite fully digital learning environments. Finally, a cluster analysis based on students' rated usefulness of the resources led to three different user-types. Whereas the 'digitals' find the external digital resources very useful (videos, webpages, etc.), the 'traditionalists' rate the digitalized traditional resources best (lecture, tutorials, etc.). All resources receive uniformly good ratings from a third group ('all resource users'). We reflect on our findings in light of the pandemic and describe directions for future research. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.