In engineering education, assessment instruments are often developed to evaluate programs and projects. Unfortunately, these innovations are not always adopted by intended audiences. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations (DI) Theory provides a framework to analyze characteristics of an innovation that will affect adoption. The Appraisal System for…

Despite the increasing attention given to design in business, Design Thinking has had little impact on the quality of business school education. Building upon the foundations of long-standing critiques of management education and the potential for student-centric learning, the authors propose that the use of Design in Practice can significantly…

Electronics Engineering Technology majors in the Industrial and Engineering Technology department at Central Michigan University have developed many real-world projects that represent the type of problem-solving projects encouraged by industry. Two projects that can be used by other educators as freestanding projects or as the core for further…

This paper examines general systems theory as it applies to higher education institutions. Using this approach, the university is viewed as a system (comprised of subsystems) that interacts with the external environment. The first sections of the paper review general systems theory and its application to management, and examine some theoretical…

In January 1999, an interdisciplinary seminar of doctoral students from cognitive, educational and computational sciences was organized to study theoretical texts that might provide insight into how to support collaborative learning with perspectives-based software. The seminar uses a Web-based tool called WEBGUIDE to mediate and structure…

Discussion of the potential of new developments in information technology for providing access to information highlights the potentials of hypertext and hypermedia technologies. Topics discussed include the interconnectedness of knowledge; skills needed for information handling; cooperative partnerships among professors, librarians, designers, and…

This paper discusses an innovative paradigm for looking at computer mediated/networked teaching, learning, and research known as BESTNET (Binational English and Spanish Telecommunications Network). BESTNET is functionally defined as an international community of universities and institutions linked by common educational goals and processes,…