ACTA TECHNICA CORVINIENSIS - Bulletin of Engineering

1.CARMEN ALIC, 2. CRISTINA MIKLOS, 3. I. ZSOLT MIKLOSINTERACTIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNINGIN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING USING INTERNETAbstract:In the process of preparing tomorrow's engineers and scientists, the universities are facing thechallenge of gradually teaching students a reality of modern mechanical engineering, namely themechanisms that occur from the interaction between different parts of complex technical systems.The use of Internet in the classroom offers the opportunity of efficiently adopting methodologies andadvanced learning systems that can help the students to expand their views and explore newfrontiers. This paper describes our experience concerning the possibility of using dedicated software(via Internet), for an interactive and collaborative learning in mechanical engineering.Keywords:mechanical engineering, educational dedicated software resourcesINTRODUCTIONGlobalization and advances in informationtechnology have prompted a change in thecredentials of the engineers today. Industryneeds engineers who can work in a distributed,multifunctional, cross-cultural andmultidisciplinary avenue. For responded to thischange, in the process of preparing tomorrow'sengineers and scientists, the universities arefacing the challenge of gradually teachingstudents a reality of modern engineering,namely the mechanisms that occur from theinteraction between different parts of complextechnical systems.The formal lecture, the oldest teaching methods,has been widely use in higher education forcenturies. But lecturing alone cannot ensure thatstudents become active learners. Generally,using lectures in combination with other kindsof instruction, such as discussion andcooperative learning, can increase theireffectiveness.The activities used to reach students withdifferent learning styles are very important,while people have different preferences forprocessing new information. One recent "hottopic" in higher education has been the differentways in which students learn: some studentsprefer to learn by listening, others like visualrepresentations, and still others learn by doing.Incorporating of various resources into lecturesand seminar applications improves the chanceof understanding of concepts by students withdifferent learning styles. Possibilities includedemonstrations, role plays, discussions,simulations, problem-solving, real-worldapplications, or multi-media.© copyright FACULTY of ENGINEERING – HUNEDOARA, ROMANIA 47