| dc.description.abstract | The labor productivity of the construction industry has declined or remained stationary over the past 48 years as compared to other non-farm industries. One of the reasons behind this is low adoption rate of technology in construction. Until recent times, most construction firms didn’t even have a dedicated IT department. However, over the past years the number has increased with the advent of latest technological advancement in mobile devices and its applications.
Construction document management has advanced in recent years. Slowly, companies are managing these documents electronically. Construction drawings are one of the essential documents used by all the key players during all the phases of construction project, right from preconstruction phase to facilities management. Effective storage and management of drawings is very essential. Drawings are an important communication tool on any construction project. Now, documentation of these drawings has become more sophisticated with the use of mobile applications incorporated with cloud computing technology. However, most of the US colleges still use paper drawings as their pedagogical tool.
The literature review draws some light on the importance of information and communication technology (ICT) in construction education. As the construction industry advances technologically, it becomes imperative to introduce the respective IT tools in the present day curriculum. The following research study was conducted to examine if there is any significant difference in student’s performance, as a result of using an IT tool. Ipad mobile tablet device was used to present construction drawings electronically to a control group and the treatment group was given the traditional paper drawings. Following an instructional lecture, students were asked to give a test based on the provided construction drawings.
The test results show that the use of technology does enhance student’ performance, as students who used the IT tool performed better on the test. Statistical analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the two test results. The treatment group answered a usability survey. The usability survey helped in comprehending how students perceived the IT tool in terms of its usability. Students indicated that they would like the use the tool in the future and gave it an SUS score of 71.35. This research study was conducted over a short period of time. Hence, further research involving a longitudinal study with the use of the technology is recommended. | en |
