OLI Engineering Statics
is a freely available, on-line Statics course coauthored by Anna Dollár
and Paul Steif. The course is part of a suite of cognitively informed,
web-based introductory level undergraduate courses that were developed
at Carnegie Mellon University under the Open Learning Initiative.
The initial development of this course was supported by the William
and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Further development of the OLI Engineering
Statics course has been supported by the National Science Foundation
under grant DUE 0918271.

The OLI Engineering Statics course contains many interactive
elements, including: simulations, “walk-throughs” that integrate voice
and graphics to explain an example of the procedure or a difficult
concept, and, most prominently, computer tutors in which students
practice problem solving, with hints and feedback. The course is built
around a series of carefully devised learning objectives that are
independently assessable.While individual learners can and do use OLI Engineering Statics, it
is also increasingly used in Statics courses led by instructors. In
different settings it: replaces the textbook, acts as a supplement to
the textbook, or functions as the primary instruction in a
instructor-led, distance course. When a group of students enter OLI
Engineering Statics using an instructor-generated course key, then the
instructor has full access to those students’ activities in the course,
including graded quizzes, and can leverage that knowledge to improve
classroom instruction. Information about the Open Learning Initiative generally may be found here. The Open and Free version of the OLI Engineering Statics may be found here.

Information for instructors who are interested in setting up an
academic section of OLI Engineering Statics for their students and
blending OLI into their class may be found here.