CD-ROM development for a certificate program in acoustics

Abstract

The Pennsylvania State University is currently developing a computer-based certificate program in acoustics aimed at practicing noise control engineers. This presentation will describe the development of a CD-ROM to deliver instruction in the program. Supplemented by a study guide, reading assignments, and homework, the purpose of the CD-ROM is to take the place of, and improve upon, traditional lectures in a course in acoustics. On each CD-ROM are placed Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) files which are viewable in a provided World Wide Web browser. These HTML files contain text, graphics, sounds, animations, and equations, the latter in the form of Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) files. The students move at their own pace from page to page through the HTML files as they would view overheads in a lecture presentation, but the hypertext, sound, and animation links allow for a more thorough treatment of the material. Having the HTML files already on the CD-ROM eliminates the communications delays inherent if all the files were only on the Internet. [Work supported by the Sloan Foundation. The authors appreciate the advice and contributions of all of the members of the Cohort-based Asynchronous Learning in Acoustics development team.] [See NOISE-CON Proceedings for full paper.]