rofessor Emeritus Joseph Datsko (BSE ME '43, MSE '52) has made dozens of videos,
but you won't find them at your local video store.
When Datsko retired in 1990, so did his popular ME 557 Materials in Design and
Manufacturing. When he was asked to come out of retirement to teach the class in 1995,
the idea emerged to put his lectures on tape. It was a way for the Department to keep
offering the class, and for Datsko to stay retired.
It took most of the 1996-97 school year to tape 34 lectures in a CoE Center for
Professional Development (CPD) studio and create a 200-page set of lecture notes.
The 50-minute tapes also include laboratory demonstrations.
Now, students enrolled in ME 557 watch Datsko lecture three times a week on video.
If they miss a class or want to clarify information, they can check out the video at
the Media Union. Datsko offers liberal office hours for students who have questions
and need help. He also holds live review sessions before each exam, which are also
taped. In addition, students use Datsko's textbook, Materials Selection for Design
and Manufacturing (Marcel Dekker 1997).
Fifty to 70 graduate students take the class each fall, with some on-site at MEAM,
some at their work sites in the Detroit area, and some at work sites throughout
the U.S. offered through the National Technical University. Copies of the tapes are
sent via overnight mail to the companies, where proctors show the lectures and
administer exams. Datsko communicates with these students via phone, fax, and e-mail.
Enrollment in the class has remained strong since the use of the tapes. Test scores
and grades have stayed high as well. Now that the tapes are complete, Datsko may soon
get to return to retirement. This fall, the class will begin transitioning to other
MEAM faculty members.
|
|
U-M MEAM CPO / Shekinah Errington
Professor Emeritus Joseph Datsko edits videotapes of his lectures
with assistance from the CoE's Center for Professional Development.
|
|
