Engineering - Civil (54) Nearly all civil engineering structures are supported by either soil or rock and design engineers rely significantly on the soil and rock properties determined through field tests and laboratory tests to ensure structural integrity. For this reason, it is important that civil engineering students have a thorough understanding of the behavior of soils and of the laboratory techniques commonly used to determine various soil properties. This project is developing digital videos designed to improve student understanding of experiments commonly performed in geotechnical engineering and to help prepare students for professional practice as civil engineers. The content of the digital videos being developed includes instructions on how common laboratory experiments are performed as well as a demonstration of how these experiments are linked to real-life engineering projects in the field. Instruction on the reduction and analysis of actual data is included in the materials. The videos also include information about failures that have occurred or that may occur that are directly applicable to the experiment in question. The impact of the digital videos on student learning is being rigorously evaluated and the videos are being distributed broadly through commercial ventures and professional societies.
