Use of Animations in delivering the ECAD Module on Blackboard

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School of PED
Use of Animations in delivering the ECAD Module
on Blackboard Martin Williams Tahseen
Rafik School of Product and Engineering Design
Martin Williams
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Presentation Outline
Background to the project The technology Questions
raised so far Implementation
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Background
Remote learning and the education system have
acquired a new dimension with the expressive
power of the World Wide Web. Students are now
accustomed to receiving much information through
visual channels.
Within Engineering complex ideas (often
mathematical) are clarified by the use of
computer simulation.
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Advantages
School of PED

• Literature suggests that using animation in
  teaching could provide a learning aid to students
  in the following ways.
• Motivation Enhancement Through appealing
  presentation of complex material, students are
  better motivated to study complicated subjects.
• Enhances retention of knowledge.
• Greater teaching effectiveness improves exam pass
  rates giving greater value for money to the
  customer.
• Difficult concepts are made easier to understand.
• Flexible use - Can be used by the student for
  private study on individual PCs following the
  instructor-taught lesson.

Martin Williams
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Personal Motivation
As the person at the sharp end of delivery, my
personal reasons for undertaking this project are.

• Despite comprehensive lecture material, I am
  repeatedly asked by some students to go over
  procedures and methods.
• Often I felt I was repeating myself.
• As School Bb champion I have a keen interest in
  making e-learning work for us as Engineers.

School of PED
Martin Williams
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The Technology
We all know how to use screen capture shots in
explanatory notes
File menu in Excel
School of PED
Martin Williams
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The Technology
What we required was software that could not just
capture single shots but the actual movement and
processes displayed on your monitor.

• Two choices
• Develop our own.
• Off the shelf.

It quickly become apparent that an off the shelf
solution was more applicable to our needs
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Evaluating the product

• Our requirements
• Easy to use.
• Flexible.
• Compatible with UWICs systems.
• Inexpensive.

School of PED
Martin Williams
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Evaluating the product
After consideration of many products a number
were selected for further evaluation.
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Evaluating the product
After in-depth consideration of the short-listed
products we opted for the WinCAM software by
Mirion Systems.
We concluded that Apart from offering a good
overall package that is easy to use the fact that
the system can generate its own .exe files means
we are not beholden to any third party Codec
files.
School of PED
Martin Williams
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What are Codecs?

• Compound word containing the words
  compressor/de-compressor or coder/decoder.
• Coder (Compression) converts analogue signals of
  audio/video files to digital files. Decoder
  (Decompression) converts digital signals back to
  audio/video files.
• Therefore, codec is software which both
  compresses and decompresses various documents and
  audio/video files.
• CODECs are generally incompatible with different
  CODECs. That is why a specific CODEC used to
  compress audio/video files must be installed to
  decode those files as well.
• This is one of the main reasons why at many
  presentations speakers are left looking at a
  blank projector screen where there was a clip of
  film it worked on my Lap top

School of PED
Martin Williams
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Demonstration of software
Loading a file into ECAD software
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Demonstration of software
Making a recording
Customise settings
We have found that story boarding / rehearsal is
important for a flowing animation
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Demonstration of software
Movie Producer
Add your ID
Emphasise Key points
Add Sounds
Set Frame Timing
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Demonstration of software
Interactive Ohms Law
RV/I where R resistance V Voltage I
Current
Click on the Image to view an animated explanation
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Questions raised during development

• What size monitor does UWIC/PED mainly possess?
• PED use 17 set to 1152 x 864
• What is the screen resolution in most common use?
  
• Standard 15 inch TFT screens are set at 1024 x
  768 pixels.
• The larger 17 inch TFTs run at 1280 x 1024
• How long should a caption remain on the screen?
• This is a how long is a piece of string question
  but remember not all students read at the same
  speed. Narration can help here.
• How long should a frame be frozen?
• If too long then user might get distracted or
  think system has crashed
• How do you make your voice seem normal when
  recorded?
• This is impossible.
• What is the policy on sound in UWICs learning
  centers?
• Users to provide their own headphones.

School of PED
Martin Williams
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File size, Storage, Playback

• The example just seen is 1.2 Mb and runs for 58
  seconds.
• So where to store such a file?
• If on a server which one? Students do not have
  the same access as you.
• It is possible to put all your content on a
  course CD? This requires a lot of upfront work
  and does not permit changes once published.
• Playback is an issue for large files?
• If on a local internal server then generally
  this is not a problem. However, over home based,
  modem type connections file size is critical to
  creating a comfortable leaning experience and
  server access could be a problem.
• If of a CD then what is to stop your students
  viewing material out of order/context? Is this a
  problem?

School of PED
Martin Williams
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Course Design / Student Engagement
If we wish to offer a more remote (off campus)
service then it seems likely that option of a CD
repository will be more appropriate at this time.
How do we keep the students Engaged? I think for
older part time students this is not a
problem. But For a new school leaver who is given
all the notes in week 1 what incentive are you
providing for him or her to attend?
With a conventional Bb delivered module we have
found it necessary to provide the students with
regular tasks which require their continual
engagement with the course. This will become even
more important if we proceed down the CD route
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Implementation

• Our aim is to develop our new lectures over the
  summer 2004 and start delivery in September 2004.
  
• All our animations will be held initially on our
  own school server
• During the year we will evaluate the following
• Student satisfaction
• Effect on grades
• Effects on Retention Progression
• Effectiveness of delivery methods

We will also develop a how to page for other
school students who require a recap on the
software when carrying out final project work
etc. (this will be monitored using the tracking
data generated by Bb)
School of PED
Martin Williams
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Conclusion
The journey of the past 10 months has been
interesting where problems have been solved which
at the start we didnt know existed. The year
ahead will be an exciting one with hopefully
answers at the end to some of the questions I
have out lined. We look forward to reporting
back to you next year with these answers and
probably even more questions.
Any Questions
School of PED
Martin Williams