Educational and Technology at MIT

M.S. Vijay Kumar

Senior Associate Dean &

Director, Office of Educational Innovation and Technology

Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education, MIT

2Design by Brian Chan PhD student at MIT

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Our focus is on developing skills and attitudes, which include

•Leadership and communication,•Comfort and experience with modern

and old technologies,•Confidence,• Judgment,•Decisiveness, and • the ability to manage risk

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• It is the most often cited program in alumni success stories.

• 85% of all MIT students do at least one UROP project by the time they graduate.

• 900 students are engaged in UROP projects each summer.

Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

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Vehicle design summit--2006Inspired by Robyn Allen and Anna Jaffe

Goal: Design and build 5 energy efficient vehicles in 9 weeks.

Results:

•46 students, 9 countries

•$250K raised

•4 vehicles built

•1 Full length Discovery Channel film

•Phase II underway

Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

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Vehicle design summit, Phase II, 2007-2008Goal: Design and build one production prototype of a

200 mpg commuter vehicle

15 teams linked by state of the art design and collaboration tools over the internet.

Management and system integration at MIT.

Assembly in Italy, this coming summer.

Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

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Bicycle Ambulance Project: Jessica Vechakul in Zambia, 2005-2007 By 2006 six ambulances were in use and in 2007 WHO placed a large order.

Veuthey and Maria Luckyanova learn about the fitment process for a below-knee amputee during their intensive introduction to Prosthetics in Jaipur, India.

Students Present Project Vac-Cast in May 2007, and win the Lemelson-MIT Award at the MIT IDEAS Competition

This spring Goutam Reddy taught a hands on subject“SP.714 “Developing World Prosthetics” to 18 students

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Hands-On Experiences for an

Increasingly Complex and Connected World

(Office of Educational Innovation and

Technology)

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• Early exposure to Research tools and Experience

• This type of hands-on interaction with the molecule provides levels of insights that are not possible by viewing static images on a page on a computer screen- Graham Walker

- Used by 1000 MIT students; 300 High School students

- StarBiogene, StarHydro, StarHPC

Research Tools for Learning

StarBiochem

Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

11Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

Utilizing Powerful Simulation Tools16.00AJ - Fundamentals of Engineering Design

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GIS Interface for Planning Extra Vehicular Activity in Space16.00AJ - Fundamentals of Engineering Design

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Learning Spaces

• Microscale Engineering for the Life Sciences”, (6.07J).: Professors Dennis Freeman, Martha Gray, and Dr. Alexander Aranyosi (d”Arbeloff support Project Based Course)

– Develop research ideas in teams

– Table-top microscopy experiments along with specialized computational resources

Flexible Space for Project Based

Experiences (Task Force)

Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

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Innovative Learning EnvironmentsMove away from large passive lectures

Intellectual CommonsDemonstrate intellectual and educational leadership by making materials freely available to the world

Inter-Institutional CollaborationExplore new ways to collaborate with other universities and private industry

Extended University CommunityUse technology to enhance on-campus education and engage members of the community, both alumni and the public

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Project based Collaborative engineering design

•Curriculum for design fundamentals

• Simulation tools

• On-line collaboration environments

• Peer-review assessment tools.

Robot World

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MIT OpenCourseware1800 courses

Site Highlights

Syllabus

Course Calendar

Lecture Notes

Exams

Problem/Solution Sets

Labs and Projects

Video Lectures

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Professor Richard HallLaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia, now teaching information systems, beginning

microprocessors, and advanced computer-aided software engineering. OCW saved him “an enormous amount of time and stress.”

“I was delighted by the way the material is so coherently presented. It is truly inspiring to see this level of excellence.”

Making a Difference – Educator Use

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Kunle Adejumo, Engineering student at Ahmadu Bello Universityin Zaria, Nigeria

“Last semester, I had a course in metallurgical engineering. I didn’t have notes, so I went to OCW. I downloaded a course outline on this, and also some review questions, and these helped me gain a deeper understanding of the material.”

Making a Difference – Student Use

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Accelerating Global Movement

Higher Education

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iLabs: Extending Access to MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (MIT-NRL)

If You Can’t Come to the Lab… the Lab Will Come to You!”(Earth at 89 GHz; courtesy of J. Grahn, Chalmers U. & J. del Alamo)

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iLabs at MIT

Microelectronics device characterization (EECS, deployed 1998)

Shake table (Civil Eng., deployed 2004)

Dynamic signal analyzer (EECS, deployed 2004)

Polymer crystallization (Chem. E., deployed 2003)

Heat exchanger (Chem. E., deployed 2001)

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iLabs ElsewhereUniversity of QueenslandDUT iLabs- Several in EEZhejiang University

50 Net Labs today (Electronic, Power and Automation/Controls)Strong interest in adopting iLabs

electromotor system elevator systemtriple-tank system

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iLab Vision

•Order of magnitude more lab experiences•More lab time to users/researchers•Transforming “hands-on” to “minds-on” engagement with real science and engineering environments•Worldwide community of discussion, discourse and analysis based on shared experiments

Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

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Open Education Vision Elements • Blended Learning

– Intelligently combine the physical and the virtual (MIRTLE)– Integrate conventional pedagogy with net-learning to deliver quality (relevant)

educational opportunities – Intelligent combinations of formal and non-formal

• Boundary-less Education– Beyond Geo-political:

• Research-Teaching• Disciplines -- Thematic and World Problem based• Teacher-Learner• Expert-Novice• Off-Campus-On Campus• Living-Learning

Linked Learning: Flashback/forward

Professor Karen Willcox, MIT Dept. of Aeronautics & Astronautics

Teaches required aero/astro course to MIT juniors

› Surprised to find many MIT students were lessproficient in relevant math than she expected

› “For example, even though I reliedheavily on material from [Differential Equations],I had no idea how it was being taught -- or whatwas being taught.”

› Now refers students to relevant OCW course sites,with problem sets, as a “flashback” to what maththey need to understand for her course

› “Down the line, I’d like to bring more of the technology into the classroom, so that while I was giving a lecture, I could give them a flashback to something they had seen in a previous course… This will create better linkages, and to fully integrate the learning experience.”

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The Carnegie Foundation’s Book onOpen Education (August2008, MIT Press)

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Context: MIT Core ValuesStudents & Faculty Proximity MIT’s core advantages are its reputation and its ability to bring together world-class students and

faculty

Inseparability of education and research

The faculty value both research and teaching highly, and would be uncomfortable with proposals that decrease the research emphasis

Research and teaching should continue to be linked and synergistic

Improving the quality of the on-campus experience is a high priority

Uniqueness of the MIT community

Preserving the quality of the MIT community is a high priority, and strengthening it is desirable

MIT is unwilling to compromise on student standards for enrollment in degree programs

Intimate student/faculty interactions should be preserved and enhanced

Faculty time is the limiting resource in innovation

MIT values Excellence: MIT should be an intellectual leader in all of its chosen fields

Entrepreneurship: The culture of entrepreneurship and faculty autonomy must be preserved

Single- class faculty: Any expansion of the faculty would need to adhere to MIT’s relatively tight definition of faculty, in which all faculty participate in teaching, research and service.

As we attempt to conceive educational experiences that provide our students with

the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential to success, we are mindful of the quote from

Yeats that ……..

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”

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Thank Youvkumar@mit.edu

The Carnegie Foundation’s Book onOpen Education (August2008, MIT Press)

The Carnegie Foundation’s Book onOpen Education (Winter 2008, MIT Press)