ENGINEERING COURSEWARE CONTENT AND DELIVERY - THE NEEDS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DISTANCE INDEPENDENT EDUCATION

The Synthesis Engineering Education Coalition strives to integrate mul tidisciplinary, open-ended problem solving into the varied engineering curricula of its members, To achieve this goal, Synthesis has develop ed a broad array of computer-based multimedia courseware modules and e lements, In addition to the courseware, Synthesis has developed NEEDS, the National Engineering Education Delivery System, as the infrastruc ture for disseminating these and other education materials over the In ternet. Several interesting challenges have been identified through th is effort: How can electronic courseware meet the diverse needs of cur ricula among a cross section of universities? How do educators adapt t raditional teaching roles to fit new resources and delivery styles? Wh at courseware access modes equally suit the needs of author, teacher, and student? Can an infrastructure designed for static courseware be a dapted to dynamically changing information on the World Wide Web? The experience of Synthesis/NEEDS can begin to answer these questions whil e opening more issues in distance independent education.