Faculty Spotlight
October - November 1998
Multimedia Tour of a Wastewater Treatment PlantBruce RobinsonProfessorCivil and Enviornmental Engineering |
In
addition to acquiring skills in multimedia project planning, design,
and development, Bruce Robinson, Professor of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, developed a unique and useful tool for his students. Robinson's
CD-ROM, "Multimedia Tour of a Wastewater Treatment Plant," takes
users through the various treatment processes of a typical activated
sludge
wastewater treatment plant.
By clicking on icons representing the treatment processes students are able access information about each process through text, still graphics, video, and audio segments.
The program supplements a class field trip to the Knoxville Utilities Board main wastewater plant. Because the field trip takes place only once per semester, having the CD-ROM available makes it possible for Robinson's students to take a virtual field trip at their convenience.
Robinson used the program extensively with his CE 380-Introductory
Water and Wastewater course during the spring 1998 semester. He
delivered lectures using the program and made it available in the
department computer lab for students to review on their own time.
Robinson surveyed his students about usefulness of the program
and received very positive responses. Comments included, "like
the video especially -- helped reinforce concepts," "helped
connect individual process studied," and "about time
professors made programs like this." Students came up with
useful suggestions as well including one for adding interviews
with operators and management on problems that may occur at the
plant.
This past June, Robinson gave a presentation on the program at the conference of the American Society of Engineering Educators. The session was well attended and very well received as evidence by one participant referring to the program as "wonderful."
After almost 350 hours of work on the program, Robinson is still
not quite ready to call it quits. He would like to animate several
of the treatment processes and add audio narration as well. Future
plans for Multimedia Tour of a Wastewater Treatment Plant include
sharing it with other Environmental Engineering professors, exploring
the possibility of commercial licensing, and submitting it for inclusion
in the University of Texas-Austin's Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Software Clearinghouse.
For more information on Multimedia Tour of a Wastewater Treatment Plant contact Robinson via email at rbr@utk.edu.