Development of a Learning System to Introduce GIS to Civil Engineers

Abstract: A learning system to facilitate the integration of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) into the Civil Engineering curriculum is described in this paper. The principal learning goal is to encourage students to apply and integrate foundational knowledge in the solution of “real world ” comprehensive civil engineering problems (e.g., geotechnical). GIS software is a necessary tool for the solution of these integrated problems in the modern civil engineering workplace. At the heart of the learning tool is the problem to be solved, which requires the use of the GIS software. Sharable content objects, designed in accordance with the ADL/SCORM standards, contain basic knowledge components necessary for utilizing the GIS software. Additional detail is presented for one of the learning objects, which uses an applet that simulates a commercial soils laboratory where the students submit orders and are delivered data results with an invoice