A Framework for Design Engineering Education with Workflow-based e-Learning System

Education of design engineering has started to change in response to the advancement of computer technology. This paper proposes a new design engineering educational framework using an e-learning system called ShareFast, a Semantic Web-based software for document management system with workflow. The software offers a function to keep tracks of learner’s behavior so that the instructor can analyze it to improve learning materials and class efficiency. It can also record learner’s input and output history data for the instructor to conduct performance analysis activities. This educational framework has been used for empirical studies with university students. The results showed that the framework could help the instructor to understand the student’s problems during the class, and it can shorten the students’ learning duration by means of learning materials improvement.