Case based education in the age of Internet

Case-based learning is once again popular in engineering education. A case can be used to present open-ended engineering problems (design, analysis, selection, planning) and business decision situations. Teams of students must analyze the problem presented by the case and develop a solution. They present their results to the class, and must be prepared to defend their analysis. With interactive computer graphics, communications networks and hypermedia databases, case material can be provided to students in novel and engaging ways. We describe our initial experiences using the World Wide Web (WWW) as a distribution medium for a third-year course on invention and design, and our students´ experiences using Netscape and Mosaic for access to our case materials (and all the resources of the Internet relevant to their projects). We also review the types and sources of cases available electronically, and suggest how we might make better use of this medium in the future.