Standards Education in
Technology Programs
Amin Karim, DeVry University
Jennifer McClain, IEEE Educational Activities
TOPICS
• Standards – A Broad Definition
• Economic Value of Standards in the Global Economy
• Current Status of Standards Education in the Technology
Programs
• A Pilot for Teaching Standards in the EET Program at DeVry
• Findings from the Pilot
• IEEE Standards Education Committee
• Key Interests in Education about Standards
• Addressing the Challenges
• Online content and grant opportunities
• Getting involved
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Standards – A Broad Definition
• They are Established Norms or Requirements
• Available as Formal Documents that Determine Uniform
Engineering, Interoperability Criteria, Methods, Processes and
Practices
• Standards are Used to Define Realistic Constraints During the
Design and Serving as Benchmarks During Manufacturing and
Testing
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Economic Value of Standards in the Global Economy
• Economy Driven by Technology and
Globalization
• Private Sector Standards and
Government Regulations affect 80%
of World Trade (OECD 1999)
• In 2003, Standards and Regulations
affected at least $7 trillion of World
Trade (US Congress estimate in
2005)
• Countries are working together to
establish international standards in
legal and financial reporting areas
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Role of Standards - Who Are the Stakeholders?
Subjects and Forces that drive the need to understand
Standards–The Three Wave Model
I.
Technology (Information, Electrical, Mechanical,
Communication, etc.) – scientists, engineers and technologists
II. Business (Digital Revolution, Network Revolution,
Management System, WTO) – government employees,
corporate executives, managers, and businessman
III. Market/Society (services, sustainability concerns) – general
public
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Current status of Standards Education in Technology
Programs
• Aeronautical Engineering Technology (program criteria)
- “Technical expertise in…industry standards, regulations and
documentation”
• Drafting/Design Engineering Technology (program criteria)
- “Graduates of baccalaureate degree programs…must
demonstrate…competency in the application of current
codes and standards”
• Similar statements in criteria for Nuclear and Surveying
Engineering Technology
• No such statements in the criteria for most major programs such
as Electrical, Computer etc. yet
• Many graduates leave college having never seen a standard,
not knowing how to tackle one or find one
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The DeVry/North Brunswick Pilot
• Partnering with IEEE, the campus decided to begin teaching
standards in its EET program. This included a comprehensive
introduction, familiarization with key standards organizations
such as the IEEE and ISO, and identification and application of
relevant standards in solving technical problems.
• One of the EET Program Outcomes was modified to include
“…incorporating multiple realistic constraints and technical
standards, and appropriate to Program Educational Objectives”
• Learning of standards were integrated in existing courses
• Students acquire basic knowledge of standards in a first
semester course. A Web-based mastery exam is used as
assessment tool
• In a mid-program course, students learn to use relevant
standards by studying case studies. A written paper justifying
the use of a particular standard is used for assessment
• As the final step, students select and solve a technical problem
that incorporates the constraints of standards.
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Findings from the Pilot
• Successes:
- Students performed well in tests as well as in using standards in
their senior projects
- One group’s application paper was selected by the IEEE Standards
Education Committee and is installed on its Website
- Faculty who were not prior user of standards received training so
that they could instruct students on standards in their courses
• Hurdles:
- Many faculty do not have experience in applying standards
- Campuses may not have access to engineering standards
- Unless one has experiened faculty, standards often are not userfriendly
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IEEE Standards Education Committee
Mission:
1. Promote the importance of standards in meeting technical,
economic, environmental, and societal challenges.
2. Secure and disseminate learning materials on the application of
standards in the design and development aspects of educational
programs.
3. Secure and provide short courses about standards needed in
the design and development phases of professional practice.
4. Actively promote the integration of standards into academic
programs.
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IEEE’s key interests in
Education about Standards
• At the pre-university level
• TryEngineering.org
• Teacher In-Service Program
• At the university level
• Development of curricula
• Accreditation criteria
• Providing an “entry point” to the world of standards
• At the post-university level (continuing education)
• Familiarizing engineers with the standard development
process
• Education about specific standards
• (e.g., the IEEE 802® family)
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IEEE’s interests in education about standards…
• Accrediting bodies need to clarify the degree to which
understanding and use of standards are expected in
engineering/computing/technology programs
• In the US the current ABET accreditation criteria are
often too vague and hence unenforceable
• A clear accreditation requirement would translate into
sections about standards in textbooks
• IEEE is developing a policy paper on the role of
Standards in academic programs in Engineering,
Technology and Computing
• Will state the desired role of technical standards in the
academic curriculum
• Will be used in model curriculum development and in
discussions with accrediting bodies
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IEEE’s interests in education about standards…
• Standards are of growing significance to industry
• Practicing professionals need to understand how to
use standards
• In October 2008 survey of 1,000 IEEE members who
were practicing engineers:
• 75% indicated that technical standards were important or
very important in their field
• 22% indicated that they learned to apply technical
standards in university
• Majority learned from a mentor or were self-taught
• Further suggests the importance of introducing
standards to students and into curricula
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Addressing the challenges at IEEE
• Access to IEEE Standards
• About 450 schools worldwide have full access to
IEEE standards through the IEEE Electronic
Library (IEEE Xplore®)
• About 10 schools make use of this feature…
• Access to IEEE 802® Standards
• http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/
• All IEEE 802 Standards are available to the public six
months after publication
• Providing free standards-related educational content
online through Standards Education web portal
• http://standardseducation.org/
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http://standardseducation.org/
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IEEE free online tutorials
• IEEE Standards Education Tutorials are designed to help
students, educators and practicing engineers better understand
technical standards by exploring the role of standards in
engineering and technology, and by providing real-world
examples of the application of standards.
• Online learning modules and resources are developed:
• To benefit both students and their faculty mentors as they
face challenging design processes;
• To help electrical and computer engineering programs
incorporate standards in their learning processes;
• To provide useful tools for learning about standards and their
impact on design and development.
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IEEE free online case studies
• Case Studies are examples of the application of standards in a
real-world context:
• describe the application of standards to achieve a specific
design objective;
• begin with a posed task, e.g., consider what standards might
be applicable to the design of a multi-mode telephone;
• identify potentially applicable standards;
• determine design and development constraints imposed by
standards;
• explore proposed solutions.
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IEEE Mini-Grants for Students
• IEEE is offering Grants to both students and faculty mentors to
help with graduate and capstone design projects with an
industry standards component.
• $500 for students
• $300 for faculty advisors
• IEEE will publish the results as a Student Application Paper
• http://standardseducation.org/applications/
• Standards Education Committee has approved eight
mini-grants to date
• Program will continue at least until the end of 2009
• Upcoming deadline for Fall 2009 applications is 15 Oct 2009
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Get involved…
• IEEE welcomes participation and partnership in our
activities
• IEEE Standards Education Committee
• Content providers/partners
• Invitations for Standards Guest Lecturers
• At colleges, universities, or companies
• Workshop and Seminar opportunities
• Call for New Tutorials and Case Studies: We are
actively seeking subject matter experts in various
technical areas to create tutorials and case studies
demonstrating the application of standards. IEEE
honorariums are available.
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Get involved…
• Call for Instructional Material:
• Subject Matter Experts are needed to develop instructional
material on key standards for use in the undergraduate
engineering, computing, and engineering technology
classrooms.
• Material that can be used by teaching staff and can be
integrated into existing topical classes.
• IEEE honorariums are available.
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Contact information
• Amin Karim
DeVry University
akarim@devry.edu
+ 630 953-3612
• Jennifer McClain
Program Manager, IEEE Standards Education
j.mcclain@ieee.org
+ 732 562-6355
Thank You
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