The Impact of the WWW on Engineering Education
• Students create pages of engineering resource materials
• Their results are available to others on the Internet
• Students can search for resources that were not accessible before
• University web sites often provide extensive resources and links appropriate to class work
• Commercial search engines provide resources for engineering searches of technical data
• The World Wide Web Virtual Library provides access to engineering information at sites throughout the world
• Much of the most complete engineering information requires a paid subscription for access
• Students create their own home pages
• There is a high level of ownership
• They create content using HTML and proprietary packages
• When using application files the content remains “live”
• Faculty add structured resources that help guide the students’ learning experience
• Class homepages provide easy access to course information and resources
• Resource lists can be provided for students to go beyond the material in their textbook and as starting points for class assignments
• The course content becomes more accessible
• We can add pictures and other items that are hard to add with traditional printed media
• A laboratory can become a much more accessible resource
• The student can explore in ways not previously possible
• The Web provides new access to information
• But the access does not necessarily increase quality
• If we are aware of what is available and possible