2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper describes an educational project developed as part of the Illinois Support for the Creation of Open Educational Resources (SCOERs) project, facilitated by the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) and funded by a $2 million Open Textbooks Pilot Program grant from the Department of Education and the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education.
The project focuses on creating an open educational resource (OER) on engineering graphics based on a two-part sequence of existing engineering graphics courses offered annually to first-year students entering civil and architectural engineering majors.
This work has two main objectives:
1. Supporting and enhancing the students’ understanding of orthographic projections and spatial visualization skills.
2. Reducing the cost of educational and instructional materials.
The first objective is met by integrating virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) experiences and fabrication tools, including 3D printing, for hands-on learning in the engineering graphics course sequence. This innovative approach is designed to equip students with unique skills that will be beneficial throughout their education and after graduation as the industry is adopting VR/AR technology.
The second objective is achieved using open educational resources in the classroom.
Titled “Introduction to Engineering Drawing and Design”, this open educational resource is articulated in four modules covering foundational topics in engineering graphics such as line types, scale, drawing tools, geometric constructions, parallel projections, and oblique projections (Modules A, B, and C). Module D focuses on drawing applications and fabrication using the 3D printer. This resource will include video modules and supplemental material such as lecture notes and drawing exercises. Various drawing and visualization techniques, ranging from hand sketches to computer-based 3D models and AR/VR, will be used throughout the resource to respond and adapt to students’ different learning styles.
The OER materials, as being developed, are integrated into the courses offered in the academic year 2024-2025. The impact of using open educational resources on student learning outcomes and experience is assessed through an end-of-semester survey. To evaluate the effect of AR/VR technologies on enhancing students’ spatial visualization skills, a proposed approach involves comparing evaluations conducted before and after students’ exposure to these technologies. The broader availability of all the OER materials is anticipated by the end of August 2025.
By using a Creative Commons License, this work aims not only to benefit a broader student audience but also to encourage the creation of additional content and research on this topic.