Easier through the exam with digitally supported teaching/learning in the world of mechanisms and gear technology

Responsible for the project:Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lena Zentner

Project duration: 01.07.2023 - 30.06.2024

Contact persons: Lena Zentner, Stefan Griebel,Department of Compliant Systems, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ilmenau University of Technology

 

Introduction, background and current status

In the Department of Compliant Systems of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the courses Transmission Technology 1 and Mechanism Technology are offered for the Bachelor's degree programs in Mechanical Engineering.

In both subjects, students are taught competencies that enable them to analyze gears or mechanisms and to take the first steps in mechanism synthesis. In the subjects mentioned, the ability to imagine the movement of gears/mechanisms, e.g. to identify their special positions, is indispensable for a successful degree and should be trained as a competence. Both subjects form the basis for the elective course Gear Technology 2 offered in the further course of the master's degree, which is dedicated to the synthesis of gears or mechanisms in a continuing and in-depth manner.

 

Objective

The aim of the subproject is to provide engineering students with

  • to develop new digital examination formats for teaching in the form of digital quizzes or interactive role-playing games, which, among other things, serve to prepare students for examinations, and
  • to create a new quality in the field of digital midterm exams for bonus point acquisition.
 

The vision of the projectis to work through the individual topics of the two basic transmission technology subjects in the form of digital quizzes and interactive role-playing games to accompany teaching and prepare for examinations. The interactive role-playing games offered are intended to provide students with an opportunity to repeat and apply their knowledge. On the other hand, the digital quizzes serve as a knowledge check paired with an immediate learning success control via direct feedback. Both formats thus also contribute to the desired consolidation of knowledge as well as to a deeper understanding of the contexts.

The commercially available software iSpring will be used for the implementation. This makes possible in a simple way among other things. quizzes and to generate immediate feedback. As a result of the integration in Moodle, the students will be able to access the teaching content with different devices independent of time and place. Through the playful transfer of knowledge and the possibility of immediate feedback, an increased level of motivation for self-study can be expected. Required skills, such as the ability to analyze and technical imagination, are thus trained in a targeted manner.

Figure 1: Cycle for competence acquisition through digital quizzes and interactive role plays generated by means of iSpring.

     

If this pilot project is successfully implemented

  • The development of quizzes/role-playing games in the basic transmission subjects will lead to a short-term and sustainable digitization andexpansion of self-motivating, competence-oriented teaching,
  • in the medium term, the expansion and simultaneous increase in quality of the intermediate examination offers for the acquisition of bonus points, and
  • the results in the form of quizzes/role-playing games can be used in the medium termas an inspiring representative example for other colleagues at the university across all subject areas.

Figure 2: Exemplary implementation of a digital quiz generated by iSpring; in the foreground: feedback page on answered question page