E-learning in the Teaching of Technical Disciplines

Over several years, the trend of e-learning study has spread to all levels of education. The benefits of this trend are undeniable. When studying using e-learning materials students are connected to the internet and therefore they are able to trace quickly and easily additional information that are not given in the text or are is not explained adequately. It has a positive impact on students and their development of independence, creativity and in some cases is possible that the student does not even notice she/he is educating herself/him. Of course, this method has disadvantages such as e.g. health problems from frequent sitting at the computer, problems with social skills and communication, etc. Despite this, the method of teaching is certainly indispensable to the future and certainly it will replace the existing system partly or even completely. Unfortunately, the implementation of this trend is not so simple and faces many obstacles at all levels of education. In theoretical fields such as philosophy and human sciences, the creation of e-learning materials is easier. Lecture notes that are taught in the form of very long texts written on the blackboard or in the form of dictation during lectures are redesigned into electronic form and are supplemented by simple interactive elements that are used to test the students during studies. In technical fields such as machine design, the automotive industry, metallurgy, machining, etc. we face problems when in the course of teaching we must combine theoretical information, practical principles and industrial practices. But merging theory and practice creates a big problem when developing electronic interactive study materials which should be identical to the feelings that students will gain on a real example. Therefore our Department of Machine Design at the University of West Bohemia focused on this problem and conducted research of software tools that can be used to create educational materials. We sought inspiration not only online, but also from colleagues at other universities and in industry. The paper describes some of these tools and processes, including their advantages and disadvantages and it should be used as inspiration for other colleagues that are also focusing on this problem.