MICROCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS TO CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION:SLIDE PRESENTATION, TUTORIAL AND QUIZ SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION

Faculty communication skills and techniques are essential requirements for effective teaching. Communicating information to students is not limited to classroom instructions; out of class assignments are equally important. The proportion of the students' knowledge gained from classroom lectures to out of class assignments depends on many factors. They include, lecturing techniques, students' preparation, retention and follow-up, quality and intensity of assignments, etc. Tra­ditional techniques for delivering class lectures rely on teaching tools such as chalkboards and audio-visuals (A.V.) In construction education, audio-visuals include overhead transparencies, photographic slide presentations, videos or movies, and models. Out of class assignments rely mainly on reading assignments, projects, research papers and problem solving. With the development of computers, Computer Aided Instruc­tion programs (C.A.I.) supplemented the tradi­tional teaching tools. However, early C.A.I. programs were limited in quality and quantity and were also expensive.. They required intensive programming skills and expensive hardware to run. The advent of microcomputers, and the development of commercial educational and business software, is gradually changing the use of computer aided instruction software in. all fields of education. Business software developed for marketing presentations are used to assist in classroom lectures, while educational tutorial programs are increasingly available to introduce students to new subjects, or to enhance their understanding of old ones. Meanwhile, drills and quiz systems are assisting the instructors in improving and testing students' comprehension. The aforementioned applications can be effectively used to improve the quality of construction education. They are inexpensive, require little if any programming skills, and most importantly, they use a tool that is becoming increasingly available on the educa­tors' desk: The Microcomputer.

Microcomputers Slide Presentation Programs

Slide Presentation programs for microcomputers have three major functions: first, they generate computer graphics in the form of slides; second, they store and arrange the slides on a floppy or hard disk, and third, they present the prearranged slides in a show format on the computer monitor.

The graphics generation function of the software acts as a simplified computer aided drafting/ design system (C.A.D.) The function allows the computer to generate text characters and to draw lines, boxes, circles or curves with various colors. Each graphic screen generated by the program forms a slide that can be stored on a floppy or hard disk. The input devices required to generate the graphics slides vary with the software. Simple and earlier programs use the microcomputer keyboard to input texts and drawings to the screen; for example "Executive Briefing System" (T.M. of Lotus Development Co.) More sophisticated soft­ware use, in addition to the keyboard, a mouse or a digitizer to input drawings to the screen; for example: "PC-PaintBrush System" (T.M. of Zsoft Corp.) or "Digital PaintBrush System" (T.M. of Jandel Corp.) Most programs can retrieve pictures that are digitized by a video camera, edit these pictures and add the final touches. The storage and presentation functions of the microcomputer slide presentation programs, store the slides in any sequence that the user selects, and present the prearranged slides on the computer monitor. The presentation can be made automatic, where the computer changes the slides with a predetermined time delay between them, or manual, where computer waits for the user to change the slides from the keyboard. Special effects (Curtains, Fade-out, Spirals) can be selected to separate the slides.

The application of. the slide presentation programs to construction education is similar to the application of any commonly used visual aid system. The programs have some distinct advantages. A lecture can be prepared and stored on a floppy disk in a considerably lesser time than that required to prepare 35mm. picture slide show. The floppy disks are compact and hold more than twenty slides that can be easily copied and reviewed by the students. Finally, the slides can be printed on (8xll) sheet for reproduction. However, slide presentation programs have some dis­advantages. The required microcomputer systems are relatively bulky to transport in and out of the classroom. They also require large video monitors for clear displays.

During classes, computer slide presentations are best used for lecture highlights, graphics illus­trations and sketches. In Appendix A, Figure (1a) is a title slide for this presentation; Figure (2a) is a graphical interpretation of cash flow analysis presented during "Construction Funding" class, while Figure (3a) is a diagram for a con­struction site layout presented in a Senior Project class. Faculty of construction programs can form a database for slides that can be used for many lectures. Finally, students of construction programs can use slide presentation programs for their project presentations. They assist in focusing on major points of the projects, prior and during the presentations.

Microcomputer Tutorial Programs

A tutorial program for microcomputers has the objective of tutoring/helping the students to understand a certain subject outside the classroom. First, it displays on the monitor text and graphics on the subject in a friendly and appealing manner. Second, it tests the students' understanding of the subject by displaying questions related to it. Finally, it commends the students for the right answers, or, it explains to them why a certain answer is incorrect and redirects them to the paragraph in question.

Tutorial programs on construction subjects are not commonly found. However, with the emergence of some tutorial authoring systems; such as "the Author" (T.M. of Raptor System, Inc.) these tutorials will become more available.

In preparing a tutorial program on a certain sub­ject, the subject is divided into sections, with each section being divided into paragraphs and multiple choice questions. Every paragraph has a text display and/or graphics display. Short paragraphs are preferable, and the screen display should be carefully designed. The speed of the display is usually controlled from the keyboard. The hardware required to generate a tutorial pro­gram depends on the requirements of the program. A tutorial with graphics display may require a digitizer or a mouse for graphics generation.

A sample section of a microcomputer tutorial program on reinforced concrete materials, developed by this author, is shown in Appendix B. The program was developed without the use of an authoring system. The section on concrete composition explains in one paragraph the materials in a normal concrete mixture and shows a graphical relationship between concrete age and strength. It then presents paragraphs about admixtures, concrete strength and various types of cement. It finally displays multiple choice questions related to the section. A correct answer results in a commendation "THAT'S GREAT". A wrong answer results in a friendly explanation, and redirects the user to a paragraph where the correct answer can be found.

The patience of a computer tutorial system, out­side the classroom, exceeds by far that of the instructor. Tutorials can serve to implement classroom instructions, or to focus on important information of various subjects. They are by no means substitutes to textbooks, reference mate­rials, or classroom lectures. They mainly help enhance the students' knowledge outside the classroom.

Microcomputer Quiz Systems

Microcomputer quiz systems are excellent teaching aids outside the classroom. They often rely on multiple choice questions to test the students' understanding of a certain subject. The students can take the prepared quiz independently with minor supervision. The quiz time is controlled with an internal clock or an external timer-switch. The program developed by this author was used to administer many quizzes in different construction management courses. The program allows the instructor to develop/author a multiple choice question quiz and stores it on a disk. It allows the students to take the quiz, grades it immediately and reports the correct answers back to the students while comparing them to the answers given during the test. The pro­gram stores the students' grades in a file for retrieval by the instructor; finally, it allows the instructor to delete a grade or a quiz file which was stored on a disk. The program has five func­tions that display on the screen:

Functions one, three and four require a password to execute. If a student attempts to execute these functions without the correct password, the computer freezes on a music theme.

The program is best suited for testing reading assignments or assignments that require minimum calculations, such as Construction Materials, Projects Administration, etc. It relieves the instructor from. grading quizzes, saves classroom time required for these quizzes and keeps the students on target with their reading assignments. The system can also be used as a self administer-drill before midterms and finals. The students that used the system showed a strong interest in it. It allowed them to take the quizzes at their convenience during the specified week, and helped them in reviewing materials before major examinations.

Conclusion

Computer Assisted Instructions (C.A.I.) are gaining fast recognition as important teaching tools. Construction curriculum can make use of some commercially available software to improve methods of delivering lectures and to enhance students' learning in and out of the classroom. The three applications discussed above are easy to use and have demonstrated, to the author, effective results.

APPENDIX B

SAMPLE TUTORIAL

Section on Concrete Composition

Concrete results from combining three materials^: Cement + Aggregates + Water. Portland Cement, when mixed with water forms a cohesive paste that, upon hydration, binds the aggregates into a rock type material called: CONCRETE

Paragraph 1

Special Admixtures, when mixed in fresh concrete, change its behavior.

The strength of concrete is gained from the aggregates. The cement paste acts as a binder for the aggregates. It takes approximately 28 days for the concrete to reach its full-strength, and 7 days to reach 50% of its strength.

Usually, formwork can be removed after 7 days from concrete placement. The Curve previously shown, demonstratesthe relationship between the concrete age and strength.

Paragraph 2

Hydraulic Cements harden when mixed with water. They consist of Silicates and Aluminates of lime ground, blended and fused in a kiln and crushed to a powder form. The usual cement used for concrete is called-Portland Cement. There are 5 types and two categories of Portland Cement. Type 1 through V, and Type I-A Through V-A (Air Entrained).

Portland Cement Types

Type I - for Ordinary Construction

Type II - for Construction Exposed to Moderate Sulfate Action

Type III - for High Early Strength

Type IV - for Low Heat of Hydration

Type V - for High Sulfate Resistance

Paragraph 3

The strength of concrete is controlled by proportioning the cement aggregates and water. The ratio of water/cement is a chief factor affecting the strength. As the water increases the strength decreases. A 0.37 w/c by weight results in a stiff mix. A w/c=0.65 results in a weak mix. The mixing water should be of drinking quality.

Paragraph 4

Since the Aggregates occupy about 75% of the total concrete volume, their properties affect its strength, durability and wather resistance.

The largest aggregate should be less than 1/5 the narrowest dimension between the forms or 1/3 the slab thickness or 3/4 of distance between the rebars.

Paragraph 5

Questions

Which is true?

Portland Cement:

Question

The Strength of Concrete: