Having to teach computer-aided design in ten weeks can be difficult. Add to that having 200 engineering freshman per year, teach an advanced solid modeling course with no appropriate textbook, plus the ever growing costs of introductory engineering textbooks and different learning styles and levels and it’s even tougher.
Kate Leipold, a Lecturer from the Rochester Institute of Technology, was facing just
this dilemma. Kate has been utilizing PTC University eLearning Libraries for about
six years for her own personal instructor use. Kate teaches both an introductory
level freshman engineering course to about eighty total students per quarter (three
out of every four quarters) and another advanced solid modeling course to about
thirty students for one quarter per year.
After trying several different engineering textbooks previously,
the cost of having students pay around $180 for only a two-credit
course seemed unfair to her students. After seeing the learning
tools and the very low cost to her students, Kate implemented the
eLearning Libraries in place of a textbook for both classes.
For the introductory course, Kate was able to utilize the pre-existing
content, such as the Air Circulator project, in the ten weeks
allotted with time to spare. With the eLearning Libraries content,
she was able to cover approximately two points per week. “A big
benefit was being able to accommodate different learning structures-
some learn visually, others like step-by-step, some like
hands-on. Plus it was nice to be able to accommodate students who
have already learned a previous CAD tool so that they can go at their
own pace, learn another CAD tool to add to their resumes and not
get bored in class.”
One challenge with the advanced solid modeling course, was that is
was difficult to find an appropriate book for the content that needed
to be covered. With the PTC University eLearning Library content,
Kate was able to pull relevant curriculum to her course and even
alter the curriculum as they went along depending on what her
students were interested in learning. So far, the feedback from her
advanced class is very positive.
Kate will be continuing to utilize PTC University’s eLearning Libraries
in her next quarter and looks forward to begin implementing the
automated assessment tools and quizzes in both courses.
To learn more about PTC University eLearning Libraries, please
visit ptc .com/go/academicprogram or contact us to get started.
Delivering an Academic Advantage - A PTC University eLearning Library Case Study from the Rochester Institute of Technology
1. Case Study
PTC ACADEMIC PROGRAM:
Delivering an Academic Advantage
Kate Leipold, Lecturer at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Having to teach computer-aided design in
ten weeks can be difficult. Add to that having
200 engineering freshman per year, teach an
advanced solid modeling course with no appro-
priate textbook, plus the ever growing costs of
introductory engineering textbooks and different
learning styles and levels and it’s even tougher.
Kate Leipold, a Lecturer from the Rochester Institute of Technology, was facing just
this dilemma. Kate has been utilizing PTC University eLearning Libraries for about
six years for her own personal instructor use. Kate teaches both an introductory
level freshman engineering course to about eighty total students per quarter (three
out of every four quarters) and another advanced solid modeling course to about
thirty students for one quarter per year.
Page 1 of 2 | Academic Advantage – RIT PTC.com