The Center for Aviation and Automotive Technological Education using E-Learning: Providing E-learning Resources and Increasing Knowledge about Their Effectiveness

由于新冠肺炎的流行，各级教育都转向更多地依赖电子技术或电子学习。这种转变产生了对电子学习材料以及关于哪些策略支持学生在不同环境中学习的知识的新需求。该项目将建立在以前NSF资助航空和汽车技术教育中心使用虚拟电子学校(CA2VES)的成功基础上。这笔资金支持创建和提供无障碍电子学习资源的早期倡议，以支持航空和汽车技术教育。通过其强调参与性和有效性的在线教学和学习的Education Workforce平台，CA2VES处于独特的地位，可以支持正在过渡到在线学习的技术教师。除了帮助满足当今航空和汽车技术人员的教育需求外，该项目还将专注于与未来制造技术相关的教育需求。该项目与NSF的资金优先领域(如人类技术前沿的未来工作)和国家工程院的重大挑战(如增强虚拟现实；推进个性化学习)直接相关。该项目由产业界、政府机构和学术界提供信息，将：1)通过可扩展、经济高效和灵活的电子学习模式支持航空和汽车技术领域；2)增长和扩大航空和汽车学者网络；3)使用电子学习来协助技术和社区学院支持不同的社区；4)开展循证研究，对电子学习和虚拟现实/增强现实在不同环境下的效果进行纵向研究。这种电子学习交付模式将为不同的航空和汽车技师教育受众整合课堂和动手实验室体验。项目成果将为学校管理人员和系统设计人员提供实用的指导方针和资源，帮助他们为不同受众开发和部署电子学习课程。此外，该项目旨在作为航空和汽车技术精选电子学习材料的国家资源，并提供了解职业道路的在线资源。该项目的一个重要组成部分是将通用学习设计原则纳入课程开发。因此，该项目开发的材料将服务于所有学习者，包括退伍军人、女性、经济边缘学生、第一代学生和学习差异较大的学生。该项目旨在通过对电子学习方法的效力进行循证研究、对照研究和纵向研究，产生关于电子学习的新知识，以拓宽航空和汽车人才渠道，并将其应用于不同人群。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all levels of education have shifted to greater reliance on electronic technologies or e-learning. This shift creates new needs for e-learning materials as well as for knowledge about which strategies support student learning in diverse settings. This project will build on the success of prior NSF funding for the Center for Aviation and Automotive Technological Education using Virtual E-Schools (CA2VES). This funding supported early initiatives to create and deliver accessible e-learning resources to support aviation and automotive technological education. Through its EducateWorkforce platform, which emphasizes engaging and effective online teaching and learning, CA2VES is uniquely positioned to support technological instructors who are making a transition to online learning. In addition to helping meet the aviation and automotive technician education needs of today, the project will also focus on educational needs relevant for future manufacturing technologies. The project is directly relevant to NSF’s funding priority areas (e.g., Future of Work at the Human Technology Frontier) and the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges (e.g., Enhancing Virtual Reality; Advancing Personalized Learning).Informed by industry, governmental agencies, and academia, the project will: 1) support aviation and automotive technological fields with a scalable, cost-effective, and flexible e-learning model; 2) grow and broaden the aviation and automotive network of scholars; 3) use e-learning to assist technical and community colleges in support of diverse communities; and 4) conduct evidence-based research and pursue longitudinal studies on the efficacy of e-learning and virtual reality/augmented reality for diverse settings. This e-learning delivery model will integrate classroom and hands-on laboratory experiences for a diverse aviation and automotive technician education audience. The project outcomes will provide practical guidelines and resources for school administrators and system designers for developing and deploying e-learning curricula for diverse audiences. Additionally, the project is intended to serve as a national resource for curated e-learning materials for aviation and automotive technology and provide an online resource for awareness of career pathways. A key component of the project is its integration of Universal Design for Learning principles into curriculum development. As a result, the materials developed by the project will serve all learners, including veterans, women, economically marginalized students, first-generation students, and students with learning differences. The project intends to generate new knowledge about e-learning through evidence-based controlled and longitudinal studies on the efficacy of e-learning approaches to broaden the aviation and automotive talent pipeline and its application to diverse populations. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.