On-line Virtual Instructor for Teaching the Fundamentals of Finite Element Method

Seshadhar V. Aluri: M.S. Student at UAJaved Alam: Professor at YSU

Joseph J. Rencis: Professor & Head at UA

Goals

• Develop interactive prototype e-Lecture interface using Animated Pedagogical Agent called Mr. FEMur for teaching finite element method.

• Integrate e-Lectures into FEML that is apart of bigger effort to develop the FEMur website.

e-Learning Review

e-Learning in Engineering Education

e-Lecture Interface

Animated Pedagogical Agents (APA)

APA Usage in Engineering Education

e-Lecture Creation Process

Prototype e-Lecture

Conclusion

• A prototype e-Lecture was developed with a human-like animated pedagogical agent for e-Learning of finite element method.

• Various pedagogical agents developed for Engineering Education were compared and the influence of animated pedagogical agents on student learning was also discussed.

• This approach demonstrates that more expressive and engaging e-Lectures can be created, that overcome the existing challenges addressed in this presentation.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Department of Civil and Chemical Engineering

e-Lecture Creation Tools

VoiceTextTM Sculptoris Voices Lite

Macromedia Captivate

• Computer Generated Animated Characters• Pedagogical - Designed to Teach• Agents – Represent or Act as a Virtual Tutor• Positive Influence of APA on Student Learning

• Subject Retention – Audio and Visual Presentation of Subject Matter

• Grasping Attention – Concentration is Not Lost

• Motivation

Challenges of e-Lecture Creation Tools

• Expensive • Website Update

• Time • Tedious• Instructor Availability

Represents Virtualized Version of Traditional Lectures

e-Book

Numerical & Computational Tools

Replaces Traditional Tests

Imitates Real Life Problems

• Standard e-Lecture Formats • Common Creation Tools

DUE CCLI-EMD Award Number

0514044