Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Marvin Cheng

Committee Co-Chair

Bruce Kang

Committee Member

David Miller.

Abstract

Distance learning has been a mode of education since its inception at Pennsylvania State University in 1892. What started as a simple correspondence course has blossomed into a globally accepted method of education. The need for remote laboratories is growing as more lab-intensive programs of study are searching for a distance learning alternative. The goal of this research is to establish the foundation of a remote laboratory in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at West Virginia University. The main objectives are to develop simple, easy-to-use graphical user interfaces to enhance the understanding of several concepts presented in the MAE 244: Dynamics and Strength of Materials course and to increase accessibility to data outside of the lab. The integration of cloud applications with access to social media is a unique feature of this research and the key to improved accessibility. Students were asked to participate in a study in which they compared the traditional lab procedure to the procedure utilizing the developed interface for several experiments. The participants were required to fill-out surveys following each experiment and the responses were unsurprisingly positive. Further works based on this research should include more quantitative results and include more experiments with more students to get a more accurate portrayal of the student body. Overall, the research was successful in ascertaining that the developed interfaces were a beneficial addition to the experiments and did, in fact, greatly improve the accessibility to data.

Download

Share

COinS