The unremitting advances being made in technology, knowledge and understanding
within the engineering industry mean that the practice is continuously evolving. It
goes without saying that to keep up with these developments there is an incessant
need for teaching methods to evolve to ensure that future generations of engineers
are educated to the highest level. There is no doubt that digital resources will play a
significant role in this evolution. This is demonstrated by the wide range of digital
resources already being used by civil engineering staff at NUI Galway in their
teaching of undergraduate engineers. From their experiences to date, the authors
have found that digital resources, used in an appropriate manner, can help achieve
programme outcomes (and, by extension, the professional accreditation criteria),
while also improving the student learning experience. It is recommended that these
metrics are used when considering the use of digital resources as teaching tools and
when evaluating the impact of such usage.
References
Atman CJ, Sheppard SD, Torns J, Adams RS, Fleming LN and Lund D (2010)
Enabling engineering student success: Final report for the advancement of
engineering education. Morgan & Claypool Publishers: Washington DC.
Barnett R and Coate K (2005) Engaging the curriculum in higher education. Open
University Press: Maidenhead.
Buggy F and Peters M (2007) Site investigation and characterisation of soft alluvium
for Limerick Southern Ring Road – Phase II, Ireland. Proceedings of Engineers
Ireland Conference on Soft Soil Engineering, Portlaoise, February 2007.
Buggy F and Curran E (2011) Limerick Tunnel approach roads – Design,
construction and performance. Presentation to Geotechnical Society of Ireland,
December 2011.
CELT (2010) Approaches to teaching: intention and strategy. Centre for Excellence
in Learning and Teaching: National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Crouch CH and Mazur E (2001) Peer instruction: ten years of experience and
results. American Journal of Physics 69(9): 970–977.
Engineers Ireland (2007) Accreditation criteria for engineering education
programmes. Engineers Ireland: Dublin.
Engineers Ireland (2011) An engineer’s dream – NUI Galway opens €40m
Engineering Building. The Engineers Journal 65(4): 219-24.
Goggins J, Byrne D and Cannon E (2012) The creation of a ‘living laboratory’ for
structural engineering at the National University of Ireland, Galway. The Structural
Engineer 90(4).
Hake R (1997) Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: a six-thousandstudent survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American
Journal of Physics 66(1): 64-74.
within the engineering industry mean that the practice is continuously evolving. It
goes without saying that to keep up with these developments there is an incessant
need for teaching methods to evolve to ensure that future generations of engineers
are educated to the highest level. There is no doubt that digital resources will play a
significant role in this evolution. This is demonstrated by the wide range of digital
resources already being used by civil engineering staff at NUI Galway in their
teaching of undergraduate engineers. From their experiences to date, the authors
have found that digital resources, used in an appropriate manner, can help achieve
programme outcomes (and, by extension, the professional accreditation criteria),
while also improving the student learning experience. It is recommended that these
metrics are used when considering the use of digital resources as teaching tools and
when evaluating the impact of such usage.
References
Atman CJ, Sheppard SD, Torns J, Adams RS, Fleming LN and Lund D (2010)
Enabling engineering student success: Final report for the advancement of
engineering education. Morgan & Claypool Publishers: Washington DC.
Barnett R and Coate K (2005) Engaging the curriculum in higher education. Open
University Press: Maidenhead.
Buggy F and Peters M (2007) Site investigation and characterisation of soft alluvium
for Limerick Southern Ring Road – Phase II, Ireland. Proceedings of Engineers
Ireland Conference on Soft Soil Engineering, Portlaoise, February 2007.
Buggy F and Curran E (2011) Limerick Tunnel approach roads – Design,
construction and performance. Presentation to Geotechnical Society of Ireland,
December 2011.
CELT (2010) Approaches to teaching: intention and strategy. Centre for Excellence
in Learning and Teaching: National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Crouch CH and Mazur E (2001) Peer instruction: ten years of experience and
results. American Journal of Physics 69(9): 970–977.
Engineers Ireland (2007) Accreditation criteria for engineering education
programmes. Engineers Ireland: Dublin.
Engineers Ireland (2011) An engineer’s dream – NUI Galway opens €40m
Engineering Building. The Engineers Journal 65(4): 219-24.
Goggins J, Byrne D and Cannon E (2012) The creation of a ‘living laboratory’ for
structural engineering at the National University of Ireland, Galway. The Structural
Engineer 90(4).
Hake R (1997) Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: a six-thousandstudent survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American
Journal of Physics 66(1): 64-74.