hopper, 1993 [3.1, abstract, overview, toc, switchboard, references]

3.1.1 Educational Goals of ESCAPE

The first courseware project to be considered will be ESCAPE, which was developed using HyperCard. The major discipline oriented goal for ESCAPE was to play a role in pre-professional engineering programs at Purdue and around the country. The ESCAPE materials were developed to help these students learn about their choices, and provide answers to the critical question; "What does an engineer do?" The ESCAPE project was based on the belief that the computer would provide many opportunities to represent the information in formats better than textbooks and chalk boards through methods like the dynamic modeling of electrical systems or multidimensional structures. The director also believed that early exposure to computer skills would also be valuable experience for students in engineering disciplines today. However, he was also careful to avoid employing computing technology in inappropriate ways. In the passage below, the director of the ESCAPE project demonstrates his own conscious efforts to not have key educational goals be overshadowed by the technology:
 
LeBold: The biggest problem I see is that it could become too technology oriented, so that the personal dimension gets lost which I think is central to doing any really good counseling. I think the person to person contact is central, and that's the important thing.
(LeBold & Hopper, 1992)

 
This statement is not a reflection of an actuality, as much as a pointer to an issue which participants like LeBold needed to watch in order to avoid it becoming a reality.
© Mary E. Hopper | MEHopper@TheWorld.com [posted 12/04/93 | revised 04/12/13]