A prototype "ANEX" facility has been developed that allows lower division Civil Engineering undergraduates to compare ANalytical and EXperimental results of small-scale structural model tests in a portable, personal computer-controlled environment. This project is to refine and test the existing ANEX prototype and to develop an expert system that will act as a trouble-shooter for student users when analytical and experimental results do not correlate acceptably well. Further, a "RIED" facility is to be developed and deployed in the ANEX facility to improve student skills related to the Reading and Interpretation of Engineering Drawings. The RIED facility also helps students to correlate idealized small-scale models with real-world engineering structures. Plans to assess the impact of ANEX/RIED on introductory structural analysis courses at the University of Missouri-Rolla and at the University of New Hampshire are to be prepared, and then, preparation for the disemination of the results will be initiated.
