The main purpose of the project was to develop hypermedia-based resource modules (RMs) for instrumentation and communication. These two subjects were selected as they are critical and common to most engineering curricula, especially laboratory and capstone design courses. The two modules contain generic information, as in an encyclopedia; hence, they can be used at any engineering school.

The Instrumentation module contains information about the measurement of the most common parameters, namely temperature, flow, pressure, and level. Different transducers that can be used for each type of measurement are described. The description for each transducer includes basic principles of operation, its characteristics, signal conditioning circuits, fabrication details, calibration and error analysis, industrial applications, and commercial information. Video clips depicting theory, operation, and application of the transducers, are included to enhance student understanding. Videos of actual process plants allow students to see how physical quantities are measured and controlled in an industrial setting. The module also gives criteria for selecting an appropriate transducer for a given application. Questions on each type of instrument are included so students can check their own understanding. These questions have been designed to test all areas of the cognitive domain, as defined by Bloom's Taxonomy [7, 8]. These different areas are 1) knowledge, 2) comprehension, 3) applications, 4) analysis, 5) synthesis, and 6) evaluation.

The communication modules provides information on written and oral communication. The written communication section contains information on four topics: Audience, Organization, Format, and Style. The audience section describes various types of audiences a student or a professional engineer may encounter. One type of audience considered is "Instructor" or "technical" reader. This portion discusses how a standard lab report is written. Other types of audiences considered are "non-technical", client, and management, who students are likely to encounter once they leave the university and are perhaps those with whom they have the least experience.

The organization section is divided into four sub-sections: summary, background, discussion, and attachments. Information on each of these topics is provided as they pertain to different types of audiences. The format section describes four different types of report formats: standard lab report, letter report, memo report, and formal report. The style section gives hints that will enable students to write sentences that are clear, direct, and to the point. Mainly this involves eliminating excess words. This section covers a number of common style problems, with sentence examples and revisions.

The written communication section includes several examples and is made interactive using many principles of active learning [9]. This section also contains suggestions for instructors about how they can experiment with different audiences and formats in their report writing assignments. The oral communication section focuses on the most common problems encountered by students (when giving a presentation) and also by faculty (when giving a lecture). It has segments on organization, preparation, and delivery of technical presentations. Since oral presentations rely greatly on visual effects, video clips of both good and poor examples are given.

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