Interoperable Learning Leveraging Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Construction Education

Abstract

The authors, faculty members in the Department of Construction Management at Colorado State University, collaborated with industry to develop three interactive, pilot Building Information Modeling (BIM)-enabled educational modules designed to support and enhance spatial understanding, interoperability, and communication within construction education and training. The first module highlights masonry construction sequencing, the second highlights the cross-disciplinary aspects of structural analysis, and the third provides bilingual safety-training by integrating voice-narration and site specific 3D visualization. The initial development, implementation, and assessment of the three modules indicate that their use is beneficial to students and professionals, and that more research is merited. The paper previews the modules and presents preliminary lessons learned from their development and pilot implementations.

Keywords:

• building information modeling (BIM)
• construction education
• problem-based learning
• spatial cognition
• visualization

Acknowledgments

The authors thank KL&A, Inc. for providing a building information model for use in the prototype educational module integrating structural engineering and construction management. The authors thank Mortenson Construction for generous and expert support of the research involving BIM and safety. Project examples and illustrations regarding BIM and safety were provided and discussed by Ricardo Khan. Ricardo Khan is an Integrated Construction Manager and leads the development of new processes for virtual design and construction for Mortenson Construction in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eric Richards and Dale Porter were Colorado State University graduate students who were primarily responsible for the technical set-up and development of the modules. Finally, the authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of The Institute for Learning and Teaching at Colorado State University for its help in implementing Adobe® Captivate® 5 in the creation of all of the educational modules.

Parts of this paper are based on the following previously published conference proceedings:

Clevenger, C., Lopez del Puerto, C., (2011). Using 3D Visualization to Train Hispanic Construction Workers, 47th ASC Annual International Conference Proceedings, Associated Schools of Construction, Omaha, Nebraska, pp. 311–316.

Glick, S., Clevenger, C., Porter, D., (2011). Integrating 3D Models in Construction Management Education: Masonry Interactive Homework, 47th ASC Annual International Conference Proceedings, Associated Schools of Construction, Omaha, Nebraska, pp. 265–261.

Richards, E., Clevenger, C., (2011). Interoperable Learning Leveraging Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Construction Management and Structural Engineering Education, 47th ASC Annual International Conference Proceedings, Associated Schools of Construction, Omaha, Nebraska, pp. 91–96.