The project is implementing collaborative project-based learning (CPBL) in a first-year digital engineering course. The objectives of the proposed work are to foster students' skill in engineering design from the freshman level, to stimulate students' interests and increase the retention rate with a pipelined design experience, and to improve teaching and learning efficiency by highly interactive instruction using Tablet PCs. This new course is combining with the standard first-year introduction to engineering course to help overcome the frustration many engineering students feel when they encounter only mathematics and science courses in the first several semesters. The project team is developing a complete set of course material that includes a series of in-class collaborative projects that 1) stimulate students' learning interest and make them more engaged in the classroom; 2) tie the theory taught in class with a real-world design experience; 3) provide insights into engineering careers; and 4) create a natural link to the subsequent courses. In addition, a Tablet PC based interactive instructional technology is being developed in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines to provide real-time in-class demos and interactive exercises. Evaluation efforts, under the direction of an external evaluator, are using various survey tools, interviews, focus groups, and the analysis of student products and records to monitor the project's progress toward its objectives. The project team is disseminating their material and results by website postings and by publication and presentations through the standard engineering education forums, through the NSDL, and through several special outlets like Educause, the Tablet PCs in Higher Education Workshop, and a local campus teaching and learning center workshop. Broader impacts include the dissemination of their material, outreach to counselors from local high schools and community colleges, and the potential increase in retention of engineering students, especially students from underrepresented groups.
