Methods, multimedia tools and results in distance learning at NJIT (with engineering multimedia demonstrations)

In the education business the customers are the learners who are prepared to study in the evenings at home in front of multimedia workstations, at the University, or in Open/Distance Learning Resource Centres. Furthermore, there is a large number of continuing education students and other professionals seeking new, focused knowledge in this rapidly changing and extremely competitive world. Open, student centered learning is a flexible, multimedia based and efficient extension to (i.e. not replacement of) the traditional lecture type, or workshop and laboratory based engineering training and education. It enables learners to extend and enhance their skills and knowledge working at a time, pace and place to suit them as individuals and/or teams and should have a range of choices about the way they might be supported and assessed. Open Learning includes those situations where the learning occurs at a distance, as well as where learning occurs without this being the factor for the learner and tutor. Our methods and practical results towards re-engineering engineering education at NJIT underline the importance of the implementation of these concepts.