The availability of online education is increasing based on current review of announcements and advertisements for continuing education and university offerings. Offerings range from complete degree programs to independent web sites created by an Instructor to supplement a traditional lecture class. Alliances are being formed between independent companies and professional organizations and universities to supply online offerings. It is no longer unique for traditional classroom experiences to be supplemented by online resources.

For many years Instructors have routinely used slide presentations and overhead projectors to deliver materials and supplement oral lecture. Since the late eighties the development of computer hardware and software has provided more ways to present this information. The evolution to online presentation and information delivery in the traditional classroom has also provided a natural step for delivery of information in an interactive format using the Internet.

Today we are at a point of growth in online education where we should be seeking to optimize Internet capabilities to deliver more engaging educational experiences. Available web development and database tools are providing greater opportunity to do this. Instructional design of online learning and assessment can incorporate database capabilities to deliver information and interactive exercises, automatically assess performance, track the results and provide immediate feedback to the user and/or Instructor. This online model is very efficient for performance based learning and assessment.

However, online efforts must compensate for the missing interactive component in order to be successful. An automated self-paced interactive format combining animation, video and audio has great potential to overcome or minimize this perception and capture the imagination of the student reinforcing necessary concepts just as well as a "good" Instructor. As observed in previous work "There is great potential for exceptional classes to be industry-sponsored productions, combining all emerging capabilities of the Internet." (Ryan, 2000)

This article discusses the instructional design of three interactive online construction exercises, their potential for use and suggestions for instructional design based upon input concerning their use. It is hoped that others will use this effort to develop better interactive online construction education experiences.

The instructional designs discussed in this article can be used for many subjects. They are ideal for visual based process, lab or simulation exercises. The large visual component required for understanding construction processes and methods is ideal for online delivery. These instructional designs can be used to motivate or engage the user to encourage learning or to assess performance based on subject mastery and proficiency.

Instructional design can combine an interactive "front-end" with content to be learned. The interactive components help compensate for the missing Instructor. The "front-end" of the exercise can be used to engage the user to learn the content. The design has the feel of a game. Online interactive efforts today typically incorporate another game such as tic-tac-toe or hangman that is played in the background as answers are entered. Getting the correct answer helps you win the background game. The approach discussed in this article focuses on making the learning exercise the actual "game". The construction exercises discussed in this article incorporate getting the correct answers in the least amount of time and with the least tries into the learning exercise. It is hoped that the expanded performance measurement is a motivator to stimulate users’ learning and development of greater proficiency.

Portals such as eduTest.com and Assessement.com are taking advantage of advancements in technology and expanded bandwidth to administer online assessment. Student appraisal, career appraisal, personal appraisal, standardized testing and diagnostic assessment are all offered online. Basic assessment steps include online input from the user, database manipulation of this input and automatic feedback to the user. Delivery and assessment are database driven and very efficient and economical to administer and document. This operation strategy has potential to be a very suitable model for online construction education delivery and assessment. It also has great potential for "real time" training and online assessment of proficiency. Simple online verification of demonstrated understanding and proficiency has great potential to improve efficiency in construction work and promote safer operation or installation of potentially harmful tools or products.

Recognizing that "Developing effective and reliable assessment methods for online class participants perhaps will demand the greatest effort for innovation and departure form traditional practices." (Ryan, 2000) Each of the instructional designs discussed in this article incorporates a proficiency component along with traditional assessment of subject mastery. Traditional assessment only measures correctness, not time and attempts needed to successfully complete the exercise. A fast time with minimal tries, can demonstrate proficiency, as well as subject mastery.

The following software was used to create the exercises. Adobe Photoshop was used to enhance, modify and compress pixel-based graphics (scanned and digital camera images). Microsoft Sound recorder was used to record oral instructions and explanations. Sound Forge XP was used to edit the sound files.

Macromedia Flash was used to create the animations. The Flash Shockwave (.swf file extension) format compresses the file size and is the most common type of vector-based animation. The exercises were built using Macromedia Director. The Shockwave content created by Director is viewed in a browser with Macromedia Shockwave Player. Shockwave Player is free, easy to download and install using the Internet and widely distributed. Many web sites are using Shockwave content for interactive product demos, e-merchandising applications, games, music, multi-user interplay, rich-media chat and more.

Macromedia Dreamweaver was used to create the container (the html web pages) that binds all the exercises together. ASP programming language was used for the interface between the user input and a Microsoft Access database. The ASP script updates information received from the online user and stores it in a database. The user input received is automatically tabulated in an Access table for review.

Computer games are popular engagers using sound, action and an input device. This approach was adopted for the exercises to promote a platform that would not only communicate the information, but also engage the user. The exercises were designed to use multimedia Internet capabilities for audio and animation and the computer mouse or keyboard for input or information manipulation. Though the Shockwave content requires the Macromedia Shockwave Player for use, it was assumed that the player was accessible to all participants.

A user-friendly "front-end" and a consistent format were primary design considerations. A template was designed to promote a recognizable user-friendly feel for all of the screens of the exercises. The template also allows for replacement or addition of images, sound files, text or other multimedia resources without having to rewrite the scripts for the exercises. See Figure 1 for a standard screen example. The name of the exercise is located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. Forward and backward buttons are located in the bottom right hand corner. Content is always located in the middle of the screen. If necessary, information is flashed below the content to direct the user. A standard screen size of 900 by 700 pixels was used for all exercises. This screen size was determined to be the minimum acceptable size in which the ten images in Exercise 1. could be organized and viewed effectively.

The exercises can be controlled for a class roster or for individual users. The amount of requested user information is discretionary. Requested user information was minimal for this project due to the focus of the effort. The requested user information can be processed and stored in a database. User information is stored as a variable and is saved temporarily in the Director program through scripting done within Director. Other information pertaining to the performance of the user is stored as different variables inside Director. At the conclusion of the exercise an ASP script transfers the information from Director to an Access database.

Each exercise includes text instructions. These instructions appear on the screen before the user opens the exercise. The instructions are orally repeated as soon as the user enters this screen. The intention of the oral instructions is to simulate the Instructor offering instructions in a class setting. Two of the three exercises utilize "drag and drop" input to complete the exercise. The user is required to pick images or objects from one part of the screen and drop them onto another part of the screen using the mouse. The third exercise requires number input to be typed in by the user. For one exercise a timer recorded the time that the user spent completing the exercise. This was intended to be a motivator for the user, introducing an element of competition and proficiency measurement. The audit report is one of the quality control checks for the exercises. Each mismatch by the user can be recorded and reported representing the success of the user. This was also intended to be a motivator for the user to try and better their previous performances or even the performance of others. The audit can be reported to the user and the Instructor if required.

Exercise topics were chosen because of their coverage in most construction programs. It should be noted that use of these exercises is most appropriate after the exercise content is presented to the users.

The main objective of this exercise is to sequence images of the concrete tilt-up construction process in the order of their occurrence. See the exercise screen in Figure 2.

Ten pictures of the tilt-up concrete construction process are displayed on the top of the screen. The user is instructed to drag and drop the pictures into the respective gray boxes numbered one to ten on the bottom of the screen in the chronological order of occurrence. The user must place the images in the correct order of occurrence in the process. If the user’s choice is correct, the image sticks. If the choice is wrong, the image repels back to its original location. "Mouse-over" activated text boxes appear when the mouse is placed on a particular picture. The green text box describes the activity in the picture. The text boxes are hints to help the user differentiate between the pictures and help sequence them in the order. The descriptions were added to help users identify details in the pictures due to the limited image size. A timer is placed at the bottom of the screen to add a competitive element to the experience. The timer activates as soon as the user enters the exercise screen. The timer is included to hopefully motivate the user. An audio file is activated in the background before the user begins the exercise. Text bullets highlighting the tilt-up construction process transition onto the screen individually as the audio file is played. This is done to refresh the user’s thoughts about tilt up construction before starting the exercise. As the user does the exercise the "back-end" program records every mismatch. The time and number of tries is posted to the database at the completion of the exercise. The user is given a "Certificate of Completion" at the end of the exercise summarizing his or her performance.

Exercises that involve visual recognition for sequencing or arranging of activities are ideal teaching tools for construction. This exercise is generic with images easily replaced to depict another activity or set of activities.

The interactive approach of this exercise is similar to the tilt-up construction exercise. The main objective of this exercise is to match the correct name of the crane part on the right to the designated part in the image of the crane on the left. See the exercise screen in Figure 3.

A picture of the crawler crane is displayed on the left of the screen. Ten parts of the crane are marked with red lines with a green dot on the right end. The dot end is a sensitive spot for the "drag and drop". This is the same approach as the tilt up construction exercise where the pictures were dragged and dropped into numbered boxes.

Ten blue bars with a dot on the left end are located on the right side of the screen. Each bar is labeled with the name of a crane part. The names are not in order and are randomly located on the screen. This dot end is a sensitive spot for "drag and drop".

The user is instructed to drag a particular part name and drop it on the appropriate part noted in the image. The user must match the blue dot to the green dot corresponding to the correct part. If the user’s choice is correct, the dots stick. If the choice is wrong, the blue bar repels back to its original location. The user can drag and drop the bars in any chosen order. The timer is not visible, but time to complete is shown on the certificate of completion.

The project management exercise is the most complex of the three exercises. The main objective of this exercise is to prioritize thirteen project management activities based on perceived importance. See the exercise screen in Figure 4.

The user is to assume the perspective of a construction Project Manager. The user types their perceived priority (1 – 13) in the gray box to the immediate right of the activity. The number one activity is considered to be the most important and is the first that should be done. This exercise is not timed. The "back-end" part of the exercise is programmed with an expert’s views on the priorities that these activities should be assigned. It should be noted that the expert’s opinion is a reflection of a particular thought process about the activities. Once all activities have been prioritized and submitted the "back-end" program calculates the variance of the user’s answers from those of the expert. For example, if the user assigns a priority of 5 and the expert assigns a priority of 8, the variance is 3. The variance is displayed for each activity. The total variance for all thirteen activities is displayed at the bottom right of the screen. A perfect score is a variance equaling 0. The user is offered a chance to resubmit a solution. It is hoped that the user will evaluate their initial performance by looking at the variances for each activity and try to reduce the total variance in their second try.

At the end of the exercise an audio file explains the expert’s logic. The activities transition onto the screen individually as the expert explains why the activity priority was assigned. The user can control the rate of the explanation. The explanation is structured to promote better understanding of the topic. It is hoped that the expert’s opinion will provoke thoughts about why the user’s approach differed and lead to better understanding of the concepts.

All three exercises were equipped with a "back-end" system to record the user’s performance. For performance-based assessment this type of system is very efficient. The Concrete Tilt-up Construction Exercise measured time to complete and the number of tries to place the ten pictures in the correct sequence. The Crawler Crane Parts Exercise measured time to complete and the number of tries to identify the ten crane parts. The Project Management Exercise measured the total variance from the expert’s opinion prioritizing the thirteen project management activities.

The user can print a completion certificate confirming successful completion of the exercise. The certificate includes the name of the user, the name of the exercise, the performance based on the pre-determined exercise parameters (time, number of tries or variance) and the date of completion. This completion information could be automatically forwarded by email to an Instructor or logged into another database.

Each exercise was followed by a ten-question survey concerning the instructional design and the user’s approach to completing the exercise. A fourth survey, Feedback, comparing the three exercises was to be completed after the third exercise survey. Using ASP scripting, answers to survey questions were directly loaded into a database and recorded.

The final step in the design was to create the web pages containing the exercises. The exercises were hosted on http://www.cns.ou.edu/cnsexercises/.

The study objective was to obtain input from students and Instructors about the instructional design and use of the three construction exercises. This input was to be evaluated to determine common perceptions from both groups. These perceptions were to be used to formulate basic suggestions for the development of interactive online construction exercises. It was hoped that these guidelines would be used to promote better instructional development.

A class assignment to complete the online exercises and surveys was made to all undergraduate **** Construction Science students in the Fall 2001 Construction Administration class. This group was selected because of their common status in the construction program. The student participants had completed the Materials and Methods and Construction Equipment and Methods classes covering information about tilt-up construction and crane parts. It was known that this group of students had minimal exposure to project management strategies and that the Project Management exercise would be the most challenging. This group was also selected because of their known access to workstations with Macromedia Shockwave player and speakers. Thirty-four responses were received.

Thirty-two Associated Schools of Construction faculty were invited individually by email to participate in the study. Eight responses were received.

Due to the focus on instructional design and use of the exercises in this study two points should be noted about the basis for these conclusions. Users’ time to complete and number of tries were not considered in this study. It is believed that if users were evaluated based on time to complete and number of tries their performance would improve. The exercises were not integrated with appropriate content review. This would probably increase users’ proficiency as well. The following conclusions were formulated from survey results and users’ comments.

Use performance parameters that measure absolute solution to the problem. Some users felt that the exercise performance parameters were not an accurate way to measure knowledge of the subject. The tilt up and crane exercises have absolute solutions. Parameters of time and tries are appropriate for performance measure. The project management solution is not absolute, but a comparison to an "expert’s" opinion. This design is ideal for teaching, but not as suitable for performance assessment. It should be noted that Instructors considered the Project Management exercise the best assessment of knowledge.

The unanimous perception of students and Instructors that these types of exercises are appropriate for construction education is a strong reason for further exploration and development. The automated delivery is ideal for incorporation into existing construction class contents and structures. Interactive components can be used to engage the user differently than traditional exercises. The project management exercise demonstrates an instructional design provoking and promoting thought to enhance the learning experience. This technique has great potential to incorporate expert content into thought provoking, problem solving construction exercises.

An unexplored dimension of this instructional design is the ability to measure proficiency, as well as mastery of the subject. This approach is ideal for performance-based assessment. There is great potential for use in construction education and the construction industry. Users can be assessed using desired performance criteria addressing any desired proficiency in "real time". A desired level of proficiency can be required before the user can continue to the next step.

It is hoped that this study is recognized as a first step to explore instructional design for interactive online construction exercises. More input from users is desired to test and refine these instructional designs.

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