This proposal is directed at the development of learning objects for use in a system of electronically enhanced education for Engineers at a post-graduate level.

Much work has been done in all of the countries in the development of distance learning using the Internet and CD-ROMs. However, the major impact has been felt at undergraduate and lower levels. The leading users and developers of distance learning materials, such as the Open University in the UK, are operating with very large student numbers and using a wide variety of media including television, print, CD-ROM, Internet and others. Linköping have similarly developed tv based materials with associated tutorials for a large, but geographically dispersed audience. The relatively large student numbers enable the development of considerable volumes of material. Again, the rate of change of undergraduate curricula and content enable significant investments to be made in the knowledge that the shelf life of the materials will be extensive.

Post graduate engineering training deals with smaller numbers and, frequently, novel concepts. The lack of a 'mass market' has inhibited the development of distance learning materials.

The pattern is similar world-wide. At a recent international conference (ED-MEDIA 2001, Tampere June 2001) a great many interesting developments were described and debated. It was clear that numbers of people in educational establishments around the world are developing individual solutions to their problems. The bulk of these solutions comprised extensive presentations using 'PowerPoint' or manipulated video recording of lectures. In most cases, attempts were being made to put over entire topics for study at a distance. That is, complete lectures would be made available on interactive CD-ROM to enable students to replay parts that they found difficult to understand. Again, the PowerPoint presentations tended to cover entire lectures at one go. Very few institutions were concerned with using these techniques to illuminate specific learning points or individual concepts and none appeared to be addressing the unique problems associated with a much narrower group of people, who nonetheless, require training designed for them with a minimum of attendance time at institutions.

If the benefits of the Internet and CD-ROM based educational techniques are to be available to these groups, there must be a rather different approach. Discussions held between partners to this proposal have led us to develop such an approach.

The approach developed by the partners is to enhance the learning experience of a training programme by making available specific material, aimed at core concepts and underlying technologies, accessible at a distance. In this way, the students can access the material at their leisure and can subsequently attend an otherwise conventional course delivered in a much smaller time frame than previously possible.

The major objectives of the project are:

• To develop and test learning objects and related pedagogical procedures that will enable the use of the Internet to complement and enhance the learning experience of participants in high level engineering and scientific disciplines.
• To reduce the face-to-face time required in teaching and to increase the effectiveness of the learning within high level engineering and scientific courses.
• To test the use of the developed system by applying it to existing courses of study within the partner institutions and to prove the effectiveness of the approach.
• To test the feasibility of teaching parts of a high level engineering programme using teachers from partner institutions in other states, delivering materials and tutoring using the Internet supported by face-to-face problem solving using indigenous tutors.
• To demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach to colleagues in the partner institutions, to engineering and science departments of other Institutions and to the world of learning in general.

This project will develop and test innovative forms for the display and manipulation of learning materials. That is they will develop 'learning objects' to be used in conjunction with an existing shell. Learning objects will be based on existing techniques such as streamed video and audio presentations, animated simulations and interactive applets.

The objects will be developed by the lecturers who will also develop the related pedagogical procedures that allow their effective use by the learners.

These learning objects and pedagogical procedures will be generic in nature and will be tested and demonstrated with specific high level courses in Mechanical Engineering.

The major innovation is two-fold:

• Firstly the approach to providing distance learning to relatively small groups of people, which is centred on the concept of electronically enhanced learning rather than distance learning. This enables us to select from the learning materials only those that are most readily delivered remotely without having to face the problems of delivering other aspects of the learning in the same manner.
• Secondly our concentration on learning objects which are small packages of learning which can be knitted together with other packages and with conventional teaching to form a coherent course that can be delivered partly at a distance and partly face to face.

The pedagogical procedures will make use of techniques such as the 'Tutor coaching Student' and 'Student coaching Tutor' which have been recently developed and demonstrated in the USA, but represent an innovative approach in Europe. These approaches include the posing of questions by the tutoring system and the analysis of learner responses and also the stimulating of the learner to pose questions of the system which are tested for relevance. In addition, the design of some of the learning objects will take the student through a thought process that requires correct responses to complete the session.

The major part of the approach is, however, the separation of the learning experience into those elements that are more readily grasped using individual study at a distance from those that are more tractable to face-to-face tutor response. The implementation of the project includes the design and use of distance learning elements to enhance the learning experience of a course. The main elements of the face-to-face learning aspects of the courses are changed from what was a primarily 'lecture' style to a more free-ranging discussion style moderated by the tutor.