The changing e-environment in engineering education

This paper describes changes in the electronic environment (e-environment) in engineering education brought about by the introduction of cyberspace with the focus on changes in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at the University of South Australia in Adelaide, Australia. Over the past decade, we have witnessed the increase in the use of computers in engineering education, probably more than in other department, due to requirements for the simulation of complex engineering systems. The use of various software packages for simulations has significantly improved the way engineering has been taught, but the introduction of the Internet has brought a sudden change in the global teaching and learning environment. The use of the Internet in education is now dramatically changing the way we teach not only the engineering programmes, but is also reshaping education in all fields and at all levels. The authors' experiences have shown that a new technology can bring improvements, but only if it is used in a proper way. Presently, new technology is rapidly developing and there will be some time before the difficulties that are currently being faced are overcome in order to learn to use the e-environment for the maximum benefit of students.