THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS ON INSTRUCTION IN ENGINEERING GRAPHICS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Abstract
An engineering college curriculum must provide the necessary experiences so that graduates can perform at a level expected of them. Many schools are attempting to implement computer graphics into their engineering graphics courses, but several problems exist; (1) there is no general agreement concerning the needs of industry, (2) no agreement as to curricular objectives to guide educators, and (3) no general source of information about what configuration of hardware and software best fit an educational setting. These problems were addressed and the results are intended to assist curriculum planners in the design of an engineering graphics curriculum which includes provision for computer graphics methods. Approach. Data from a literature search was used to construct a survey instrument. The resulting instrument was mailed to a random sample of 142 industrial respondents. To compare and contrast these identified needs with the current curriculum, the instrument was also mailed to a random sample of 118 engineering schools. This survey also asked respondents about what computer hardware and software were being used to achieve objectives in engineering graphics. A total of 189 or about 73% of the surveys were returned. A statistical analysis of the survey data was performed in order to make recommendations in regard to curriculum development. Results. Analysis of the survey data result in a determination of 14 skills or curricular experiences that are important to engineers and the engineering graphics curriculum. The following specific recommendations are made to curriculum developers: (1) the continuation of traditional engineering graphics content, (2) an increase in provision for development of freehand sketching skills, (3) a decrease in the emphasis of computer programming for computer graphics, (4) computer graphics experience with a variety of computing systems, especially microcomputers, (5) an expansion (where necessary) of the engineering graphics curriculum to a 4 credit hour equivalent, (6) the development of industrial liason relationships.
Recommended Citation
JENSEN, JON KENNETH, "THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS ON INSTRUCTION IN ENGINEERING GRAPHICS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT" (1985). Dissertations (1962 - 2010) Access via Proquest Digital Dissertations. AAI8516277.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations/AAI8516277