EXPERIENCE IN AUTOMATION OF TEACHING ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES

Abstract

The subject of consideration is the processes of teaching engineering disciplines in terms of their computer support, consistent with teaching methods and the requirements of education at the university. The article presents the experience of systematically taking into account the characteristics of teaching, trends in the importance of independent work, the relevance of distance learning through the integration of the principles of modular learning and the capabilities of information technology. The approach to automation is considered in relation to the disciplines of the system modeling cycle, which accumulate the features of technical subjects: are characterized by formalization, work with abstract systems, models; have a practical focus; involve the use of software tools, etc. Modeling training is a continuous, lengthy process that requires appropriate preparation of training material and automation of labor-intensive stages.

To ensure the integrity of training, the core of the subject has been identified – the “unifying” module “Modeling of systems based on networks with queues”, which: integrates the knowledge obtained within the framework of the discipline; specializes them for application in the field of assessing the characteristics of objects; allows the skills to be applied not only fragmentarily, but also to the entire modeling cycle.

To support the most labor-intensive processes of training, monitoring and evaluation of results, the module is equipped with a set of software and information tools. The complex consists of a subsystem for constructing network specifications and model specifications, a subsystem for evaluating (testing) models, a database of training tasks, etc. The complex provides: obtaining modeling objects (descriptions of simplified systems that meet specified requirements for their complexity and operating mode); formation of test data sets required for model certification; construction of codes for simulation models of systems in the input language of the standard modeling system; certification of models.

This ensures a systematic approach to learning, since the tasks of developing models are consistent with the results obtained, and the modeling processes themselves are reproduced from the stage of studying the system to assessing the adequacy of models and predicting the characteristics of systems. The complex can be deployed in a desktop version, including as part of a local network, or as a web application with access through a standard browser.