ABSTRACT
Many have argued for the importance of continuing engineering education (CEE), but relatively few recommendations were found in the literature for how to use multimedia technologies to deliver it most effectively. The study reported here addressed this gap by investigating the multimedia category preferences of working engineers. Four categories of multimedia, with two types in each category, were studied: verbal (text and narration), static graphics (drawing and photograph), dynamic non-interactive graphics (animation and video), and dynamic interactive graphics (simulated virtual reality (VR) and photo-real VR). The results showed that working engineers strongly preferred text over narration and somewhat preferred drawing over photograph, animation over video, and simulated VR over photo-real VR. These results suggest that a variety of multimedia types should be used in the instructional design of CEE content.
Notes on contributors
Charles E. Baukal, Jr. is the Director of the John Zink Institute. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, an Ed.D., a Professional Engineering licence from the state of Pennsylvania, and is an adjunct instructor at Oklahoma State University, Oral Roberts University, and the University of Tulsa. He has authored over 150 publications including authoring/editing 13 books on industrial combustion and is an inventor on 11 US patents.
Lynna J. Ausburn holds a PhD in Educational Media and Technology from the University of Oklahoma. She is a professor emerita of Occupational Education at Oklahoma State University, has extensive international education experience, and has received several awards for teaching and research excellence. Her professional contributions include more than 50 published articles, 100 presentations, and 3 monographs.