Combining Mathematical Revision Courses with Hands-on Approaches for Engineering Education using Web-Based Interactive Multimedia Applications

AbstractIn engineering education, it is beneficial for students to acquire practical experiences with real-world relevance. Although solving engineering problems requires the comprehension of the mathematical backgrounds, many practice-oriented teaching approaches concentrate on the practical engineering part, but neglect the underlying theory. This work combines enhanced theoretical learning with practical experiences through interactive multimedia applications in the context of robotics. It consists of a blended learning scenario which offers at least a threefold benefit: It supports teaching of theoretical and methodological aspects. Required background knowledge in mathematics and physics is directly available. And acquired knowledge can be brought to life by programming tasks and visualizations. Interactive 3D visualizations and web applications illustrate complex technical facts and Matlab or Octave code, respectively, can be executed online for computations and simulations. All offers are accessible 24/7 via web browser without any dependency on additional software. Beside for integration in classroom teaching, the platform can be individually used by students for targeted learning and filling of knowledge gaps. As e-learning platforms are highly accepted by students and have a positive influence on the students’ performance, we expect to enhance our teaching with the new platform providing practical and theoretical offers tightly linked together