According to USA Today, about 1 in 6 students enrolled in higher education registered for an online course this semester.  Growth in such classes surprises some experts, but as online teaching tools become more refined, students and teachers are finding advantages to this form of learning.  Geographical freedom is one advantage of online courses.  This fall I plan to teach a math course to American students all the way from France.

Distance learning is new for me.  Initially, I was skeptical about the effectiveness of the learning environment.  How does the teacher establish a rapport with the students?  How does one explain complex concepts over email?  How can the teacher tell when an explanation didn’t really make sense?  Fortunately, the university that I’ll be teaching at has put me through a four-week online training program.  During this course, I’ve been asked to participate just like a prospective student, completing assignments meant to teach me how all of their online tools work.  It has been an eye-opening experience.

Through discussion board participation, live videoconference “office hours” and prompt email responses I really do feel a personal connection with my instructor and classmates.  Detailed tutorials and relevant web links have also enabled me to get up and running with the complicated software.  Plus, I feel much more responsible for the quality of my education.  As a teacher, if I don’t do all my homework and make sure that I understand the concepts, that first course could be as difficult for me as for the students.

Degreed professionals might also benefit from online learning.  The required breadth of knowledge for civil engineers is constantly increasing. At the same time, a shrinking economy makes it difficult for employers to offer in-house training.  However, for companies and individuals to remain competitive in the marketplace, this knowledge must still be obtained.

Some organizations are beginning to offer free tutorials, marketed to specifically to professionals in need of upgrading their skills.  The Be Employable program, offered by the Bently company, provides “outplaced infrastructure professionals” free access to software and training. Meanwhile, Autodesk users can take advantage of free Civil 3D training by Engineered Efficiency, Inc.

Other companies have gone further, building on the lessons learned from online universities. Retrieve Media Inc has developed unit-based courses that combine educational videos with practice problems and online help.  In the demo videos that I viewed, the instructor is visible standing in front of a live screen shot of the program window that he’s operating, simulating a live classroom environment.  Their complete lineup ranges from cooking lessons to information modeling tutorials.  Clearly they understand the needs of the engineering demographic.

Given the potential for online education, an MSN Money article goes so far as to suggest that this current generation of students may be the last to attend college in the traditional sense.  Do you agree?  Is that good or bad for the profession?  What online courses would be immediately beneficial to you?  Post your thoughts.  One lucky contributor, chosen at random, will receive a free vBooks subscription from Retrieve Media.

As a perfect segue from my last post, think about entering this contest about designing a sustainable village:

WHAT ARE WE AFTER?

This is a contest for the visions of an ideal sustainable village: a place where you would want to live, study, work and experience the challenges and rewards of an ecologically durable lifestyle. In other words: to define the future of living.

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?

You can draw, sketch, take photographs, paint, use digital design tools to create  images, or even submit poetry (however, poetry must make a visual statement  as well as all entries will be treated as images). You can be as creative as you like, but please keep in mind the key words and goals of the CLEAR Village.

Distill your vision in to a 600dpi horizontal A4 image and send it through sendspace.com, following the instructions mentioned underneath.

I became a civil engineer because I wanted to make a big impact on society. Over time, I’ve become particularly concerned with society’s impact on the environment. I find large-budget LEED certified “green” projects to be incredibly important steps toward sustainable development. In my current position, however, I’ve been more involved in smaller rehabilitation and renovation projects. Though smaller in scope, these projects are equally important to the environment, because it’s almost always more efficient to re-use our existing building stock.

On a number of occasions, I’ve even had the opportunity to work directly with a company that provides solar panel roof-mounting solutions. We help ensure that the existing structure is capable of supporting the new equipment. I can’t think of a simpler way to help make our buildings greener.

Jeremy Jones, VP of strategic development for SoCore Energy, recently took the time to answer some of my questions about solar power and the future of “green” industries in America.

1) How much power can a solar installation generate?

In the U.S., each kilowatt of solar generating capacity that you install will generate between 1,100 and 1,600 kilowatt hours per year (with Northern latitudes at the low end and say Arizona at the high end). A typical residential system would be about 5kW while commercial installations are typically anywhere from 25kW to 1,000kWs or more.

2) What kinds of engineering challenges has your company faced in attempting to achieve your mission to make solar energy more flexible, more accessible, and more affordable?

Our business is built around trying to eliminate the barriers to more widespread solar adoption. We see the major barriers as a) lack of standardization and b) difficult project requirements. Ultimately, we need to drive down the cost of solar and the lack of standardization both within the system designs as well as the incentives from one state to another prohibit these reductions. Further, there are so many requirements that a project has to meet in order for it to be “viable” that it greatly limits the market expansion. For example, if every project needs to be with a customer who has a AAA credit rating (in order to qualify for financing), 20 years left on their roof warranty, and happens to own their building, solar can never really contribute to our energy mix. Our approach has been to standardize installation practices, increase system portability, and create shorter more flexible contracts for customers so that we can overcome many of these initial sales barriers.

3) How prominent a role do government rebates and tax credits play in people’s decision to install solar panels?

Today, they are absolutely critical. These incentives are creating the economies of scale required for us to reach grid parity and not need incentives in 5-10 years.

4) How will legislation currently under consideration (including cap and trade proposals) affect your industry?

Regarding cap and trade we’ll need to figure out how “Carbon Credits” will ultimately relate to “Solar Renewable Energy Credits,” which are the more common commodity for trading the “renewable” attributes of renewable energy. Separate from cap and trade, we’re very interested to see if a nationwide Renewable Portfolio Standard “RPS” gets passed as this would require all utilities to have a certain portion of their generation from renewables like solar.

5) What role do you think civil engineers will play in developing a new green energy infrastructure?

Civil engineers are playing a key role. As the cost of the technology (the actual photovoltaic cells) decreases, it becomes increasingly important to be very cost efficient with the other components of the system. As part of this, the ability for a project to be efficiently installed (and code compliant), is increasingly important. Civil engineers will play an important role in continuing to innovate on how systems are installed on rooftops and ground racks.

6) How have people’s perceptions of solar energy changed since you first became involved in the industry?

In my nine years in the solar industry, the market has completely changed. What was once an extremely niche product for municipalities and very early adopters is now becoming mainstream. Today, most customers still value the sustainable aspect of the project, but the projects have to make economic sense. In a few more years, I suspect the market will be purely cost based.

Please click here to read Jeremy’s responses to more questions, including:

• How does a solar panel generate electricity?

• How long does it take a solar installation to pay for itself?

• Are solar panels effective in northern climates?

• Is solar energy still “green” after considering life-cycle costs?

• Has social media changed how you do business?

www.asce.org/professional/educ/

According to a diverse group of civil engineers who met to discuss the future of the profession, by the year 2025 a civil engineer will be:

Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life.  Civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and ethically as master: planners, designers, constructors… stewards of the natural environment… innovators… managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events and other threats, and leaders in decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure policy.

Wow!  That’s a really tough charge.  The statement is a great rallying cry for the importance and prestige of civil engineers, but can one realistically master so many subjects?  In 2008, an ASCE committee was tasked with determining the Body of Knowledge necessary to meet these ideals.

The resulting document spells out 24 different areas for prospective professionals to study.  Subjects like math, mechanics, and technical specialization are common to most traditional degree programs.  However, the committee suggested many new topics that weren’t even on the radar when I was in school.  10 Sustainability – Analyze systems of engineered works for sustainable performance; 17 – Public Policy – Apply process techniques to simple problems related to civil engineering works; and 19 – Analyze engineering works and services in order to function at a basic level in a global context.

Collectively, the new Body of Knowledge asks engineers to, “master more mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering science fundamentals; maintain technical breadth; acquire broader exposure to the humanities and social sciences; and achieve greater specialization.”

Colleges already struggle to integrate practical tools and procedures used by industry into the curriculum.  How do you fit all of these new subject areas into a degree program?  For one, engineering students should get used to the idea of going on to pursue a master’s degree.  More on the job training and exploratory learning is also suggested.  However, the authors of the Body of Knowledge purposefully want to raise the bar. More responsibility is placed on students and young engineers to actively seek education in these competencies.

Fortunately, some advice is given.  Take advantage of on-campus resources and challenges like the concrete canoe and steel bridge.  Study abroad.   Engage in conversations about sustainability, building information modeling and other new topics that are becoming more important in the industry.  Volunteer for community and professional organizations.  Demand feedback and diverse project assignments from teachers and employers.

Most importantly, take charge of your future.  Six months after starting my first job, I did not feel that I was getting the experience I needed to meet my career goals.  Throughout 18 years of school, someone had always told me what the next step would be.  However, at that point, it was entirely up to me make a move that would broaden my body of knowledge.  Be ready for that decision.  If you choose to continue learning throughout your career, then it’s likely that you will fully meet the charge for the civil engineer of 2025.