The basis for the development of a pedagogical pattern language for engineering education using ICT rich resources

There has been considerable ongoing discourse on the need to revisit the practice of engineering education in order to encourage convergence with current best practice in the areas of teaching and learning in an information and communication technology (ICT) rich environment for higher education. Concurrently, pedagogical pattern languages are being developed and used as a basis for developing a coherent platform to encourage improvements in ICT rich environments, including both Web-based and hypermedia instruction. The question of whether or not there is a coherent structure within engineering education, which could be used as a basis for the establishment of a pedagogical pattern language in the engineering education field, has yet to be answered. In this paper, the author outlines some of the issues associated with current engineering education practice and design pattern languages within an ICT rich environment. the author identifies current developments in the relevant fields and then makes the required links to postulate that the development of a pedagogical pattern language for use in engineering education using ICT rich resources is necessary.