Assessment of Next Generation Learning Through Computer-Facilitated Networked Play

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Interdisciplinary (99) This project is creating an innovative learning model to educate future engineering leaders by developing their understanding of complex tradeoffs among environmental, economic, and technological issues. The heart of the project is a cooperative cross-disciplinary computer game, Shortfall Online, developed by faculty and staff from three departments: the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering provides the technical background; the Department of Visual Arts and Multimedia Studies provides the interactive design expertise; and the Department of Education provides the critical learning assessment skills. The development and assessment of the networked game is helping to define a new pedagogical model for educating future engineers who are mindful of the environmental global impact of their work and who possess interdisciplinary knowledge of environmentally benign systems engineering. The intellectual merit of this project lies in the design and assessment of the game so as to promote student learning and confidence along multiple dimensions, including: the history of environmentally benign technologies within the past decades; environmental policies and legislation that influence manufacturing in the global economy; current business strategies and technologies used in industry to address environmental burdens; tradeoffs among economic and environmental policies that influence technology; effects of current global events on a sophisticated supply chain and complex engineering system; and team-based decision-making in the management of a complex set of variables for expected outcomes. The broader impacts of this work are felt through the promotion of a pedagogical model that enhances economic and environmental literacy among engineering students and provides real-life ethical dilemmas for debate. Furthermore, students gain learning strategies and habits that are applicable throughout their careers, cultivating informed participation in complex business and engineering decision-making. The project is also serving as a model for other engineering programs seeking to imbue their curricula with attention to understanding the tradeoffs among economic, environmental, and technological issues in system design.