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Awarded to: James Marrow

Institution: Manchester Materials Science Centre

Funded in: 2003

Project description: The project will design, develop and disseminate an additional interface to an interactive steelmaking simulation to make it more accessible to materials and other engineering students in the UK. In addition a tutor’s pack will be produced, which will assist with the embedding of the software into the current teaching process.

Background: In 2002 MATTER and the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) produced an interactive web-based learning module on Steelmaking. This package was aimed at both steel industry employees and ferrous metallurgy students around the world. The simulation enables the students to apply the underlying thermodynamic and kinetic theories to produce a steel cast to a certain specification. Initial evaluations within UK universities suggest that undergraduate students in materials science courses, let alone other engineering courses no longer have sufficient background in the thermodynamics and kinetics of steelmaking required to confidently approach the simulation in its current form.

Objectives: To improve the learning experience for Materials students in a laboratory by assessing the most effective way to integrate interactive software into computer laboratories. The main steps in achieving this are:

• Designing an EXCEL spreadsheet, which enables students to simplify the process of making alloying additions and process control within the steelmaking simulation. The use of java-applets for on-line calculations to assist with decision making will also be investigated.
• Producing a presentation / overheads that can be used as introduction to the use of the software by educators.
• Defining a set of guidelines to assist other lecturers run tutorials using ILSAP.
• Establishing links between departments that are using computer based learning packages and encourage future dialogue on best practice in the use of such resources.
  

Deliverables:

• A spreadsheet that enables students with little or no Materials background to access all the learning outcomes from the ILSAP steelmaking module.
• A packaged tutorial that will enable the spreadsheet to be used effectively within computer laboratory sessions.
• Establishment of a network for the continuous improvement of the implantation of computer based resources into Materials courses.