Many undergraduate environmental engineering curricula across the nation are being re-designed to emphasize fundamentals of environmental engineering process dynamics and to acquire familiarity with the procedures for obtaining and determining design parameters for design of full scale systems for treatment and remediation of water and wastewater. The objective of this proposal is to build on the P.I.s' previous course development efforts by developing and promoting the use of multi-media learning tools for undergraduate education. Specifically, the proposal will focus on the development of interactive multi-media laboratory modules for a course titled "Pollutant Fate and Transport." The modules will include did actictutorials covering process theory and methods for estimating design parameters from laboratory data, an interactive video/animated laboratory in which students collect data by sampling "bench-scale reactors" displayed in the video, and an annotated spreadsheet for analysis of the data collected in the interactive video. The module development will be overseen by an advisory committee consisting of senior environmental faculty from a number of universities who offer similar courses. One of the unique features of the proposed courseware is that it will allow institutions that do not have the time, money or other resources to develop an environmental engineering laboratory to provide students with a visual, active learning experience without the time or expense associated with developing and equipping a laboratory.
