The University of Central Florida (UCF) is the fifth largest university in the United States and offers degrees in over 220 programs. Focusing on high-quality experience-based learning, the university addresses local, state, national, and international issues with a view to supporting the global community. As part of that support, the Industrial Engineering & Management System (IEMS) department concentrates on the advancing engineering concerns of the 21st century.

The IEMS areas of teaching include project and program management, operations research, human factors, safety engineering, human systems integration as well as modeling & simulation. Through its graduate and undergraduate programs, IEMS provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to either enter the workforce or pursue higher education. And, for those students already in the industry, the IEMS also offers the opportunity to keep pace with the latest technological advancements through certificate programs.

Within the IEMS department, Dr. Michael Proctor teaches “Interactive Simulation” to both certificate and graduate students. The course is designed for engineers in the Interactive Simulation and Training Systems Master’s program as well as for students in the inter-disciplinary Modeling and Simulation programs. In addition, the course has also included PhD students from education and psychology as well as individuals working in the industry who want to retrain and/or upgrade their skills. And, at the center of the course’s curriculum are software solutions from Presagis.

Advanced Functionality Out-of-the-Box

Dr. Proctor joined the faculty at UCF in 1994 when he retired, Lieutenant Colonel, from the US Army after more than 22 years of service. His time with the military showed Dr. Proctor that hands-on experience is invaluable when it comes to learning. Rather than simply lecturing to his students on all the features and functionalities available with Presagis solutions, Dr. Proctor instead asks his students to work with the software themselves.

This method of instruction makes it necessary to limit Dr Proctor’s class to 22 students in any given semester to ensure that every student can have equal access to the facilities. And, it also means that, in addition to receiving instruction, students in Dr. Proctor’s “Interactive Simulation” course provide instruction to the group and develop their own projects using Presagis Creator, Terra Vista, STAGE Scenario, and AI.implant.

Since Dr. Proctor began using Presagis solutions in 1994, he has seen an impressive evolution in the tools. With the solutions offering so much out-of-the-box, Dr. Proctor is able to cover a great deal of ground during the term. He says, “Presagis tools have enabled me to teach far more topics and communicate far more information than I ever did before.” As a result, students graduating from IEMS are better prepared than ever.

With these increased learning opportunities, however, comes increased demands on the students. The bar is set very high for everyone, but Dr. Proctor’s approach makes the material accessible and the learning experience extremely enriching for all.

Experiential Learning in the Classroom

By giving his students the opportunity to teach elements of the material to the class, Dr. Proctor encourages them to engage in “experiential learning.” He believes that this allows for the greatest retention of information and is therefore the most effective way to learn. Says Dr. Proctor, “the learning retention rate in a lecture class is only about 10%. However, in the teaching mode, the retention rate is 90%. Students learn better and retain more essential information if they are able to explore the software themselves and teach material to the class.”

This means that, when working with Creator early in the semester, for example, Dr. Proctor lectures for 3 hours, Lemar Harold of Presagis presents for 3 hours, and then the students present what they have discovered on their own about the solution. Says Dr. Proctor, “They pick one particular aspect of Creator, like road tools, building tools or interaction with Google warehouse, and then show what they learned about it.”

In this way, students can explore what is most pertinent to their work and, at the same time, share their knowledge with the group. And, the system works extremely well. Says Dr. Proctor, “we have exceptional students who really love Presagis tools.”

Students Build Their Own Scenarios

Once students have taught the material, they move on to building their own training scenarios. The scenarios run on 3 computers. The first controls the simulation, the second responds to the trainee, and the third controls the opposing agents, neutrals, or friendly teams. Using Creator helps the students to create precise visual content and synthetic environments. It streamlines the modeling process and increases their productivity by enabling them to easily and effectively create highly detailed 3D models and digital terrains.

The specific content requirements for the scenario change over time. This is a reflection of shifts in the industry as well as advancements in the technology. Says Dr. Proctor, “I get pressure from my students to include the leading tools in my teaching. And, at the same time, because tools, like the Presagis solutions, are so productive, I am able to ask students to do more.”

To begin, the students build a synthetic natural environment in Creator that must include a bridge, roads, and land. In addition, they must also include at least one building. Says Dr. Proctor, “I require that everyone build something. This means that they must build, texture, and wrap a building. Some students have built marinas, warehouses, and even a train station.”

When students have built their environment, Dr. Proctor has them populate it. This can include trees, lampposts, playgrounds, and additional roads. It can also include cars and static objects, and they receive advanced credit if they have doors with openings or degrees of freedom. In the end, they are evaluated on the number of items in the scenario as well as on the scenario’s quality, uniqueness, and diversity.

For their projects, students choose the type of training they will offer. Then, to test the success of each scenario, Dr. Proctor takes on the role of trainee. With the flexibility of Presagis solutions and the dedication of his students, he has had the privilege of being a pilot, decontamination specialist, rescue fire-fighter, and a hostage negotiator.

Through technological innovation at Presagis and Dr. Proctor’s dedicated teaching methods, students graduating from IEMS are definitely well-pared to both address the engineering and challenges of the 21st century and to support our global community.