Teaching Aircraft Combat Survivability by Distance Learning

One of the innovative methods of engineering education today is teaching students at several distant sites simultaneously and interactively using two-way audio and video teleconferencing (VTC) equipment. This method of teaching is referred to as Distance Learning (DL). Teaching in the DL mode offers several advantages to the teacher, to the student, and to the university over the traditional classroom lecture to on-campus students. It also presents several challenges to the teacher, the student, and the university. This paper presents the experience of the author in modifying a graduate level course in aircraft combat survivability (ACS) for presentation in the DL mode. The VTC equipment and the course preparation, delivery, and administration for the DL mode are presented and compared to these same activities when teaching using the classroom lecture mode.