In a web‐based learning environment, interactivity has been referred to as the most important element for successful e‐learning. This article presents the production cycle of an interactive medical device, namely a virtual 3D electroencephalogram, and the study conducted to measure the students' satisfaction of the learning application based on Kano's quality model. The web‐based interactive learning application introduces unique elements of interactivity with the learning content, specifically designed to train biomedical engineering students at the use of the medical device. The results of a post‐deployment student survey suggest that the visual and interactive features embedded in the application have the potential to induce positive satisfaction of users. The proposed approach may serve as reference for the correct design of similar learning applications not only in the biomedical engineering context but also outside the realms of engineering sciences. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:72–91, 2015; View this article online at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI

No abstract

No abstract

Model Based Definition (MBD) is a new strategy of PLM based on CAD models transition from simple gatherers of geometrical data to comprehensive sources of information for the overall product life cycle. With MBD most of the data related to a product is structured inside native CAD models, instead of being scattered in different forms through the PLM database. MBD aims are suppression of redundant documents and drawings, better data consistency, better product/process virtualization, better support for all CAx tasks under Engineering and Manufacturing disciplines. Developing MBD today, for a medium-large size company in the automotive and aerospace sectors, deals primarily with its fundamentals: data structures. Companies need a common approach to structure data in reusable, unified forms inside native 3D CAD models. For this reason this research work has been by developed focusing the attention on a method for supporting the MBD implementation by the use of the QFD approach. In order to analyze the efficacy of the proposed approach, it has been validated in the aerospace and defense domain where companies deal with complex products, characterized by a large amount of data exchange, and where collaborative design is a fundamental practice.

Modern corporations, institutions, universities and schools consider e‐education as a way of educating larger groups of students in less time and of reducing the use of various resources. Since setting up a web‐system for e‐education requires a significant amount of time, as well as the necessity of having a computer and other resources, the assessment of the goals and desired effects of the online system should be made in the preparation phase. It is important to highlight that only putting course contents on the web, without using appropriate pedagogical models and principles, without appropriate means of communication between participants and instructors and without the use of modern information technologies to present the learning content is not enough to fulfil educational goals. It should be noted that, after the substantial initial investment and excitement about the possibilities of e‐education, many sources of difficulty and dissatisfaction regarding online learning have emerged. Most e‐learning studies propose possible improvements in course material, with little attempt to explore the learners' dimension, context, pedagogical considerations or technology aspects. In this article, we have analysed the aspects that need to be considered when designing an e‐learning platform for engineering education and we have proposed a methodology, based on the Quality Function Deployment approach, useful for the preparation phase of distance learning systems. Finally, we have explained the impact of new information technologies (Web3D technologies) on online engineering education and highlighted how these tools have been implemented in the e‐learning platforms for mechanical engineering that we have developed.© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 22:708–727, 2014; View this article online at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI