Deregulation of the electric industry is forcing most utilites to be more competitive. To be competitive, utilities need people at all levels that are trained to deliver a better product, at a lower cost, with more reliability. The goal of this CRCD project entitled, "Improving Electric Power Industry Competitiveness Through the Application of Artificial Intelligence," is to help improve electric power utility competitiveness by incorporating, into the upper division undergraduate and graduate curriculum, instructional modules that can be used to train people in these critical areas. The instructional modules to be developed will focus in the area of the application of artificial intelligence to operation, control and simulation of electric power systems. These modules are based on already completed research at the University of Washington and Arizona State University.
These modules will be completed with a team of technical researchers, instructional methodology experts and computer-based media specialists. All modules will be computer based and disseminated in multiple ways including via the Internet. Formative assessment will be ongoing throughout the life of the project.
Instructional design will center around active learning strategies such as cooperative learning with emphasis on team methods; however, instructional design will also include components to appeal to the reflective learner as well as students with other learning styles.
The results of this work is expected to enhance the ability of new graduates as well as electric power engineers perform in the rapidly changing, highly competitive world brought on by deregulation of the electric power industry.
