Educational applets for active learning in properties of materials

The traditional, lecturer-driven classroom is giving way to a new more active environment, where students have access to a variety of multimedia course materials. We created several Java applets for the electrical engineering course Properties of Materials. These applets help describe concepts related to electron motion in metals and semiconductors. They address ideas which are often difficult for students to visualize and yet important for students to intuitively understand. Simulation applets are "hands-on" and interactive while tutorial applets are "hands-off" and presented in slide show format. We deployed these applets in a class of roughly 140 students. We recorded the students\´ learning preferences, background characteristics, and opinions about the applets. We then characterized population and usage trends of the students.