AAEE - Australasian Engineering Education Awards

presented to Associate Professor Terry Berreen, Monash University
 and Dr Brian Chapman, QED Interactive Pty Ltd.

Terry Berreen and Brian Chapman have developed, implemented, and evaluated an excellent interactive compact disc-based resource that significantly enhances students? understanding of first year mechanics. 

Terry and Brian have used an innovative set of mechanistic simulations, animation and virtual experiments to enable lecturers to demonstrate complex theories simply and effectively in the classroom. An important pedagogical principle behind the innovation is its mathematical precision, enabling students to interactively vary parameters, often beyond the constraints of traditional laboratory experiments, and ?see? the results immediately.

The innovation is wonderfully flexible for both learners and teachers alike.  It has been thoughtfully constructed to increase student motivation by appealing to a wide variety of learning styles and to create better opportunities for independent learning. It also enables students to focus on comprehending new material during class.

The innovation has been warmly received by students, who see it as a powerful study aid and a terrific tool for increasing their own enthusiasm for the subject. 

Commendations:

1999 The Award for Innovation in Engineering Education (Formally The Motorola Award)

Dr Ken Morison of Canterbury University NZ

Dr Morison has a developed, implemented and evaluated a series of ingenious
experiments focused on common misconceptions in fluid mechanics.  They are inexpensive and easy to set up, readily-implementable in most engineering schools, and really clever.  Their art and genius lies in their simplicity.