scholarly journals A LAB TASK GROUP FOR REVIEW AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THIRD AND FOURTH-YEAR LABORATORY COURSES

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Torvi ◽  
Scott Noble ◽  
Doug Bitner ◽  
Melanie Fauchoux ◽  
Rob Peace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Task Group ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Remote Labs ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

Since the mid-1980’s, the mechanical engineering program at the University of Saskatchewan has included three core third and fourth-year lab courses, each of which consists of 9-10 individual labs. In 2015 a task group was set up to review these courses, including deliverables, scheduling and links to material in corecourses. Since this time, the task group has taken on the major responsibility for continuous improvement of the lab program, including reviewing student evaluations, making changes to labs, and recommending equipment purchases.  The task group has also been responsible for a major redesign of the lab program, which will improve delivery and scheduling of labs, alignment with core courses, workload of students, and experience gained by graduate teaching assistants. Smaller apparatus have been designed and built in-house to allow students to gain additional hands-on experience. Labs have been designed to build on one another in order to systematically improve students’ general laboratory skills, including the use of data acquisition systems and experimental design. This new approach was used for the first time in ME 328 in 2019-20.  This paper will focus primarily on the role of the task group in continuous improvement, and the lab program redesign.  The new ME 328 course is described, along with lessons learned from the first offering. The task group’s role in moving to remote labs during COVID-19 is also discussed.

scholarly journals Experience with Online Delivery of an Engineering Technical Elective Course

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Wallace ◽  
Harpreet Dhariwal
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
Elective Course ◽  
On Line ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

MIE 515, Alternative Energy Systems, an engineering technical elective course open to senior undergraduates and graduate students, was delivered as an on line course for Fall 2011. This is the first time an undergraduate engineering course at the University of Toronto has been offered online. The course is also one of five pilot online courses across the University. The move online is being accomplished in two steps. For Fall 2011, a small lecture section of 25 students was used as a setting for video capture and the remaining 110 students accessed the course lectures online asynchronously. A live tutorial was offered once a week. All students were physically present for the midterm examination and the final examination. For Fall 2012, the course will be delivered entirely online, with the exception of student physical presence for the two examinations. Pedagogical and technical lessons learned during this transition year will be presented. The benefits and drawbacks of online delivery will be discussed from the perspective gained this year and compared with our expectations. Student feedback will also be presented and discussed.

Navigation Based on Metric Route Information in Places Where the Mobile Robot Visits for the First Time

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-193
Author(s):  
Asahi Handa ◽  
◽  
Azumi Suzuki ◽  
Hisashi Date ◽  
Ryohsuke Mitsudome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Robot ◽  
Particle Filter ◽  
Navigation System ◽  
Geometric Accuracy ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Route Information ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The University ◽  
Local Map ◽  
First Time

In this study, we propose a navigation system that guides a robot at a location visited for the first time, without developing a map in advance. First, it estimates the position of a path that exists on the local map by matching the metric route information and the local map generated by simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM); this is achieved by using a particle filter. Then, the robot travels to the destination along the estimated route. In this system, the geometric accuracy of the route information specified in advance and the accuracy of the map generated by SLAM are essential. Furthermore, it is necessary to recognize the traversable area. The experiment performed verifies the matching of the route information and local map. In the autonomous running experiment, we conduct a trial run on a course set up at the University of Tsukuba.

scholarly journals An Economic Analysis of a University Educational Cafeteria Composting Program—Bobcat Blend

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 639-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Sanders ◽  
Tina Marie Waliczek ◽  
Jean-Marc Gandonou
Keyword(s):  
Organic Waste ◽  
First Year ◽  
State University ◽  
Pilot Site ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The University ◽  
Collection Sites

At Texas State University, a cafeteria-composting pilot program was established in which students source-separated their organic waste at one of the food courts while the program educated students on the value of organic waste and compost. Waste sorting bins were set up in a dining hall to direct students to sort trash into recyclables, compostables, and trash. Waste audit results demonstrated the value of the operation to the university in terms of savings in waste hauling expenditures, as well as showed the percent contamination, and percent waste diverted to the university's recycling and composting program. There was a significant difference between pre and post-test waste audits. The pilot site composting program resulted in a net loss of $3741.35 to the university during the first year, but was expected to produce a positive net return of $2585.11 in subsequent years. The pilot test showed the program was most successful when ongoing education at the dining hall occurred. Additionally, the student-run composting program resulted in hands-on training for students in producing a valuable horticultural commodity in an emerging waste management field. Results also indicated opportunities for further diversion such as the incorporation of compostable cups and utensils, as well as through expanding the operation to include more collection locations. With more collection sites and, therefore, more efficiency, the expanded composting program has the potential to become a self-supporting operation.

scholarly journals A WORKSHOP ON LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR ENGINEERING FACULTY MEMBERS

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Romkey ◽  
Susan McCahan
Keyword(s):  
Educational Practice ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Graduate Attributes ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

As an initial step in preparing faculty members for the new outcomes-based accreditation process introduced by the CEAB, a pilot workshop on creating learning objectives was developed for engineering professors at the University of Toronto. As the Graduate Attributes will be mapped to individual courses within engineering programs, the need for course-based learning objectives is even more critical; although research already supports the development and use of learning objectives as an effective educational practice. . This paper will describe the process of developing the workshop, facilitating it for the first time, and the lessons learned that were used in developing a second iteration of the workshop.

Building a Cochlear Implant Practice: Five Lessons Learned

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-21
Author(s):  
Anne M. Lobdell ◽  
Joseph E. Dansie ◽  
Sarah Hargus Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Clinical Aspects ◽  
University Of Utah ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Past ◽  
Speech Science ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

Cochlear implants are becoming available to an increasing proportion of the deaf and hard-of-hearing population. As interest in and success with cochlear implants has grown, more and more private practice clinics are incorporating them into their scopes of practice. Over the past 2 years, the first 2 authors of this article have been heavily involved in developing cochlear implant programs in separate otolaryngology private practices. A recent conversation about this process revealed several common experiences and lessons learned. During these same 2 years, the third author began teaching the cochlear implant course at the University of Utah. Although her audiology and speech science background gave her extensive knowledge of the science behind cochlear implants, she had no clinical experience with them. The first author took this course the first time the third author taught it, and the experiences and insights she shared with the third author during and since the course have been an important component of the third author’s personal education in the clinical aspects of cochlear implants. In this article, the first 2 authors share 5 things we wish we had known when first beginning their work with cochlear implants.

A 3D Printing Vending Machine and its Impact on the Democratization of 3D Printing on a College Campus

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjai Bashyam ◽  
Joshua Kuhn ◽  
Carolyn Conner Seepersad
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
College Campus ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
3D Print ◽  
On Demand ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Common User

The Innovation Station is a 3D printing vending machine that provides on-demand, internet-enabled 3D printing to all students on The University of Texas at Austin campus. It was designed and built by the authors, who also operate the machine throughout the academic year. This paper introduces the Innovation Station and describes insights and lessons learned from operating the machine for its first academic semester. User statistics and common user mistakes are described, and a designer’s guide is provided to make it easier for first-time users to 3D print successfully.

scholarly journals Development and Implementation of a Nonmajors Horticultural Survey Class

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 196-199
Author(s):  
Jennifer Campbell Bradley ◽  
Dennis McConnell ◽  
Michael Kane ◽  
Grady Miller
Keyword(s):  
Student Response ◽  
University Of Florida ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Agriculture Programs ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Popular Appeal ◽  
New Students ◽  
The University ◽  
Classroom Presentation ◽  
First Time

Attracting new students into traditional agriculture programs has become increasingly difficult. Offering a survey course as a means for introducing students to agriculture is a concept with popular appeal. As a recruiting effort, and as a method of introducing students to horticulture, the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida, Gainesville, designed a one-credit course for nonmajors. The course was structured to provide a broad overview of horticulture, emphasizing plant use to enhance interior and exterior environments. The intent was to develop a course somewhat similar to an entry-level course for majors, but with each lecture devoted to a single, self-contained topic. When feasible, hands-on activities were incorporated within the classroom presentation. The course ORH 1030-Plants, Gardens, and You was offered for the first time in Summer 1997. It is now offered every semester. The course has one faculty assigned each semester and various other faculty members, including teaching, research, and extension specialists, participate as guest lecturers. Methods to improve the course are discussed by the faculty presenters and the course coordinator each term. Student response to ORH 1030 has been favorable, ratings are high and enrollment in the course has continued to rise from 30 to our current cap of 100. As a means of ensuring that we are meeting the needs of our students and to aid in targeting potential students, a survey was administered in Spring 2000. Students enrolled in the course were surveyed at the beginning and the end of the semester to gain insight into student demographics, horticulture background and experience, reasons for enrollment in the class, and overall interest in the course.

scholarly journals Experiential learning in engineering education: The role of student design competitions and a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Gadola ◽  
D Chindamo
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Formula Sae ◽  
Engineering Theory ◽  
Hands On ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

Student competitions can play an important role in education: they promote interest and engagement of the students, as well as of the teachers. In the case of engineering, one of the most challenging contests in Europe is the Motostudent event, joined by the University of Brescia (UniBS) in 2016 for the first time. It is a typical implementation of Kolb’s theory of experiential learning, where engineering theory and application meet in an intensive, ‘hands-on’ team work experience, resulting in a very effective learning process that involves the so-called soft skills as well. The paper aims at briefly reviewing the scope of competitions like the Formula SAE and sharing the authors’ experience in a similar event, the Motostudent contest.

scholarly journals Industrial cryo-EM facility setup and management

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-325
Author(s):  
Kasim Sader ◽  
Rishi Matadeen ◽  
Pablo Castro Hartmann ◽  
Tor Halsan ◽  
Chris Schlichten
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Process Scheduling ◽  
Structure Based Drug Design ◽  
University Of Cambridge ◽  
Thermo Fisher Scientific ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The University

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has rapidly expanded with the introduction of direct electron detectors, improved image-processing software and automated image acquisition. Its recent adoption by industry, particularly in structure-based drug design, creates new requirements in terms of reliability, reproducibility and throughput. In 2016, Thermo Fisher Scientific (then FEI) partnered with the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, the University of Cambridge Nanoscience Centre and five pharmaceutical companies [Astex Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, GSK, Sosei Heptares and Union Chimique Belge (UCB)] to form the Cambridge Pharmaceutical Cryo-EM Consortium to share the risks of exploring cryo-EM for early-stage drug discovery. The Consortium expanded with a second Themo Scientific Krios Cryo-EM at the University of Cambridge Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. Several Consortium members have set up in-house facilities, and a full service cryo-EM facility with Krios and Glacios has been created with the Electron Bio-Imaging Centre for Industry (eBIC for Industry) at Diamond Light Source (DLS), UK. This paper will cover the lessons learned during the setting up of these facilities, including two Consortium Krios microscopes and preparation laboratories, several Glacios microscopes at Consortium member sites, and a Krios and Glacios at eBIC for Industry, regarding site evaluation and selection for high-resolution cryo-EM microscopes, the installation process, scheduling, the operation and maintenance of the microscopes and preparation laboratories, and image processing.

scholarly journals “Scientist as a game”: learning geoscience via competitive activities

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Musacchio ◽  
Giovanna Lucia Piangiamore ◽  
Giuliana D’Addezio ◽  
Stefano Solarino ◽  
Elena Eva
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Hands On ◽  
The World ◽  
Set Up ◽  
First Time ◽  
Competitive Activities ◽  
Science And Research

<p>Nowadays, science communication is considered as one of the major challenges that research institutions are required to face. The strategies to attract public interest, the choice of the correct language, and the tools to trigger curiosity are a matter of debate. Research claims a concerning disaffection in older students toward science, which suggests that children are one of the major targets to whom the world of science and research should appeal. “Scientist as a game” is an experience of a hands-on approach that is combined with game-related challenges in the field of geoscience, where effective teaching methods require extensive research. This activity was held for the first time in the ‘Giacomo Doria’ City Museum of Natural History in Genoa as an open day laboratory, and it was linked to an interactive exhibition realized by Italy’s Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). We set up four laboratory activities that were focused on: (1) where and why earthquakes and eruptions occur on Earth; (2) how volcanoes happen; (3) what the effect of shaking on buildings is; and (4) how to behave correctly in the case of an earthquake. Children were teamed up to score points according to the challenges included within each activity. The feedback of this experience was very positive, as shown by the questionnaires handed out to the participants immediately after each activity, and it reinforces the reviewed research on using games and hands-on activities in education.</p><div> </div>

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