The course Introducing Marine Engineering has been offered for 90 years since the major, marine engineering, was designed in Dalian Maritime University (DMU). This course aims to help the learners to understand ships, the marine power plant, the crew in the engine department and their main responsibilities, and master the composition of marine power plant, the source and working principle of the ship's power and electric power, and the composition and roles of the ship's power plant and its systems, auxiliary devices and anti-pollution equipment.
At present, in DMU, it is a 32-credit-hour course, and for some majors, it is a 16-credit-hour course. It is a compulsory course or distributional elective for those majoring in nautical science, law, rescue and salvage engineering, traffic management, etc. It is also an elective course for all students. Besides, as one of the orientation courses, it is compulsory for students majoring in marine engineering. More than 2,000 students learn this course every year.
This course has distinctive maritime characteristics. During the learning process, students have the chance to visit the training ship YUKUN, which has been welcomed by students for many years, and has achieved remarkable learning outcomes. However, with the introduction of national strategies such as building a maritime power, a transportation power and a shipping power, as well as the development of maritime technology and information technology, the contents and the teaching methods of the course also need to be updated. The teaching contents need to reflect how ships support national strategies, enrich students' life, and touch upon more maritime cultures, especially Chinese maritime cultures. The teaching methods need to fully implement the educational concept of "student-centered" and use virtual reality (VR) technology to display the equipment and the engine room.
Therefore, the course team members designed the MOOC, Introducing Marine Engineering, updating the course contents, such as international conventions and domestic regulations concerning the safety, environmental protection and management of marine power plant, new technologies such as EFI diesel engine, gas engine, unmanned ship, etc. Learners can see the virtual engine room to experience the convenience and efficiency brought by VR technology. The course team members have also carefully designed the lead-in of each lesson. They start the course by introducing the scenes in life, which is easier for learners to understand, and then lead the learners to acquire the specialized knowledge. They aim to talk about the marine power plant through life, and observe the society through the marine power plant.
In a word, Introducing Marine Engineering does not only help students majoring in marine engineering (especially freshmen and sophomores) to learn about marine power plant systematically, but also the non-majors and social learners to enrich their knowledge, understand national strategies and inherit maritime culture.
