Transforming Engineering Education through Social Networking

这个探索性的项目将调查社交网络作为学习环境的效用，以激励和提高高中生，特别是西班牙裔学生和大学生在数学，科学和工程领域的表现。学习型社交网络（LESN）是康涅狄格大学和美国大学的一个联合项目。的工程和教育学院，旨在发现如何这些内在的激励环境可以适应，以提高工程教育的动机和兴趣，以及如何利用基于项目的学习和社交网络的力量，以加强学习和促进科学，技术，工程和数学学科。LESN基于实践社区的强大理论框架，让学生参与真实的问题解决活动。该技术的结构允许从小学到专业工程的垂直整合以及跨文化和学科的横向参与。工具？的以学生为中心的设计旨在促进以学生为中心的学习和转变教师教学。康涅狄格大学和温德姆高中之间的合作将寻求确定在线社交网络的特征，这些特征有助于改善工程问题的解决。该项目还将提高参与工程学院和管理人员的理解和技能，因为与该项目合作的结果是与创新教学法有关。工程教育要适应世纪的需要，必须进行改革。如果我们要改善招聘并扩大即将入学的工程招生的多样性，就必须在K-12水平上解决学习成绩和动机问题。批判性思维能力，以解决现实世界中的问题也必须得到改善，如果我们的毕业生要能够在多学科和多文化的社区，这是越来越多地成为工程工作的共同论坛工作。社交网络可以有效提高学习成绩，并最终改善科学和工程学科的招聘和保留。

This exploratory project will investigate the utility of social networking as a learning environment to motivate and improve the performance of high school students, especially Hispanic students, and college students in the areas of math, science, and engineering. The Learning Enabled Social Network (LESN), a joint project between the University of Connecticut?s Schools of Engineering and Education, seeks to discover how these inherently motivating environments can be adapted to enhance motivation and interest in engineering education and how to harness the power of project-based learning and social networking to enhance learning and promote the science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. LESN is based on a strong theoretical framework of communities of practice to engage students in authentic problem solving activities. The structure of the technology allows vertical integration from elementary school to professional engineering as well as horizontal participation across various cultures and disciplines. The tool?s student-centered design seeks to facilitate student-centered learning and transform faculty teaching. Collaboration between the University of Connecticut and Windham high school will seek to identify features of the online social network that lend themselves to improved engineering problem solving. This project will also advance the understanding and skills of participating engineering faculty and administrators as related to innovative pedagogy as a result of working with the project. Engineering education must be transformed if it is to meet the needs of the 21st century. Academic performance and motivation must be addressed at the K-12 level if we are going to improve recruitment and expand the diversity of incoming engineering enrollment. Critical thinking skills to solve real-world problems must also be improved if our graduates are to be capable of working in multi-disciplined and multi-cultured communities, which are increasingly becoming common forums for engineering work. Social networking can effectively boost academic performance and eventually lead to improved recruitment and retention in science and engineering disciplines.