popular videos is a 21-minute documentary of the Rissa Landslide produced by the
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), recently made available on YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q-qfNlEP4A). In the process of constructing a
foundation for a small barn in April 1978, 700m
3 of excavated material was
stockpiled on a lake shore and triggered a landslide with a final volume of 6,000,000
m
3 . The documentary includes some live amateur footage of the retrogressive sliding
activity. The footage is dramatic and the documentary successfully frames the slide
in the context of the underpinning soil mechanics principles, including water
content/Atterberg limits, shear strength and geochemistry. The two former topics are
fundamental topics in introductory soil mechanics modules and therefore help
achieve PO(a) of the accreditation criteria. In addition, an exposure to geochemistry
stimulates a curiosity about how soils were formed and shows that processes other
than mechanical ones can have an influence upon likely behaviour today.
Kentledge is the term used in geotechnics to describe a stacked arrangement of
concrete blocks used to load test piles. Another powerful YouTube video shows a
dramatic Kentledge collapse at a construction site at Gilstead Road, Singapore in
January 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14JM2-Yj2bY&feature=related).
Some of the concrete blocks tumbled over the site boundary and caused damage to
the gas pipeline under the road. This accident could potentially have led to a loss of
life. In addition to providing a clear illustration of how pile load tests are performed in
practice, this video has an important secondary learning outcome, highlighting the
importance of responsibility, ethics and health and safety matters in construction
(PO(d) in the accreditation criteria).
Online videos and animations are also utilised in the teaching of Elementary
Hydraulics. For example, a java applet of Newton's Cradle (Figure 1a) is used to
demonstrate the laws of conservation of momentum and energy, thereby helping to
achieve PO(a) of the accreditation criteria. If a single ball from the left side of the
Cradle is pulled outward and released (Figure 1b), it swings and strikes the second
ball. On impact, the momentum of the first ball is transferred through the series of
balls, causing the last ball on the right to swing outward while the other balls remain
motionless (Figure 1c). When this ball swings back, its collision again results in
momentum transfer and the first ball swings outward to repeat the process. Pulling
away several balls results in the same number of balls moving away at the other
end. The animation provides a very visual demonstration of the conservation laws.
Students find it quite intriguing and are motivated to use the applet themselves to
vary the number of balls that are pulled away and observe the result.
Figure 1: Screenshots of Newton's Cradle animation (courtesy of: http://www.schoolfor-champions.com/science/newtons_cradle.htm).
(a)
(b)
(c)
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), recently made available on YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q-qfNlEP4A). In the process of constructing a
foundation for a small barn in April 1978, 700m
3 of excavated material was
stockpiled on a lake shore and triggered a landslide with a final volume of 6,000,000
m
3 . The documentary includes some live amateur footage of the retrogressive sliding
activity. The footage is dramatic and the documentary successfully frames the slide
in the context of the underpinning soil mechanics principles, including water
content/Atterberg limits, shear strength and geochemistry. The two former topics are
fundamental topics in introductory soil mechanics modules and therefore help
achieve PO(a) of the accreditation criteria. In addition, an exposure to geochemistry
stimulates a curiosity about how soils were formed and shows that processes other
than mechanical ones can have an influence upon likely behaviour today.
Kentledge is the term used in geotechnics to describe a stacked arrangement of
concrete blocks used to load test piles. Another powerful YouTube video shows a
dramatic Kentledge collapse at a construction site at Gilstead Road, Singapore in
January 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14JM2-Yj2bY&feature=related).
Some of the concrete blocks tumbled over the site boundary and caused damage to
the gas pipeline under the road. This accident could potentially have led to a loss of
life. In addition to providing a clear illustration of how pile load tests are performed in
practice, this video has an important secondary learning outcome, highlighting the
importance of responsibility, ethics and health and safety matters in construction
(PO(d) in the accreditation criteria).
Online videos and animations are also utilised in the teaching of Elementary
Hydraulics. For example, a java applet of Newton's Cradle (Figure 1a) is used to
demonstrate the laws of conservation of momentum and energy, thereby helping to
achieve PO(a) of the accreditation criteria. If a single ball from the left side of the
Cradle is pulled outward and released (Figure 1b), it swings and strikes the second
ball. On impact, the momentum of the first ball is transferred through the series of
balls, causing the last ball on the right to swing outward while the other balls remain
motionless (Figure 1c). When this ball swings back, its collision again results in
momentum transfer and the first ball swings outward to repeat the process. Pulling
away several balls results in the same number of balls moving away at the other
end. The animation provides a very visual demonstration of the conservation laws.
Students find it quite intriguing and are motivated to use the applet themselves to
vary the number of balls that are pulled away and observe the result.
Figure 1: Screenshots of Newton's Cradle animation (courtesy of: http://www.schoolfor-champions.com/science/newtons_cradle.htm).
(a)
(b)
(c)