Dr. Jiang’s practices to improve student success and degree completion using technologies that students use daily. Dr. Jiang redesigned a course with low success rate by developing strategies using mobile technology. These strategies include the development of interactive, concept-rich mobile learning apps to help students practice gained knowledge outside classroom, recorded review videos embedded in the mobile apps to provide review of prerequisite concepts and course contents, and virtual office hours accessible directly on the apps to offer timely guidance and instant feedback. The mobile platform also provide an ideal way to host course materials. Dr. Jiang converted a majority of the necessary materials of this course into digital forms and integrated them into the mobile learning apps. By reducing the cost and need for textbooks through his efforts, the overall savings for students per academic year in this course is expected to be more than $13,000.
In addition to providing better accessibility of the course materials and guidance, Dr. Jiang also committed to seek way for students to access laboratory experiments, a necessary and key component for student success in the engineering field. To achieve this, Dr. Jiang developed an innovative mobile remote laboratory through harnessing the power of mobile technology and Internet of Things (IoT). This mobile remote laboratory offers students the opportunity to remotely participate and conduct real physical experiments through smart mobile devices (e.g. smartphones and tablets) from anywhere at any time.
To further engage and motivate students, Dr. Jiang also collaborates with local and national organizations to provide research opportunities for students to succeed during the summer months. His efforts facilitate student’s preparation for the workforce, top-quality training, and development of professional networksto better help students transition from school into professional engineering careers.
