Case Study: RTE 303
Rail Transportation Safety Experiences
Railroad Operations & Safety (RTE 303) is one of the required courses for the Rail Transportation Engineering major at Penn State Altoona. The course includes further training on the basics of rail operations, including the role of terminals and safety principles.Laboratories are used throughout the RTE curriculum to provide students with experiences in the field with actual rail equipment, and extensive team-based laboratory activities are used to develop the leadership qualities that are essential of rail professionals. In order to prepare students for the occupational challenges associated with careers in the rail industry, careful and candid discussions of career possibilities and working environments typical of railway professionals are provided throughout the RTE program.
Project in Brief
Course: RTE 303 (Railroad Operations & Safety)
Instructor: Bryan Schlake
Number of Students: 6, 7
Semester: Fall 2017, Fall 2018
Duration of Assignment: 15 weeks
Key Benefits
“The goal was to have students research a particular topic related to railroad operations and deliver a course project to show what they learned. I wanted to provide a variety of different project delivery options for students to choose from, as some students are more skilled at writing and others prefer to communicate better through video/media creation. Adding the 360º video as an option was a fun way for students to get out into the field and study their topic up-close and then provide their classmates with the opportunity to experience what they learned through a 360º degree immersive video.” – Bryan Schlake
Application to Other Courses
The project provided students not only a closer look at the safety equipment and track management strategies that are being employed in working rail yards and crossings, but also an opportunity to show their current cohort of classmates and future students in the program the same. This ability to create training materials and understanding of how important communicating best practices is in the profession will improve student performance as they complete the RTE program.
Project Description for Students
RTE 303 Course Project Options – 2018
Option 1: Develop a 10-minute Railroad Safety & Security Training Video (see instructor for details)
Option 2: Develop a 10-minute Railroad Educational Video (see instructor for details)
Option 3: Write a 5-page (single spaced) technical research paper answering either question below:
3a: The last 100 years of railroading has seen industry-wide transitions to new technology including the rise of diesel-electric locomotives, continuous welded rail, and positive train control. What will be next great breakthrough in technology that will transform rail transportation over the next 100 years? Make a case for this technology using data and analysis.
3b: In recent years, railroad’s have faced increased pressure to reduce operating ratio through improved efficiency and reduction of costs. With the exception of the 2008-2009 recession, railroads saw a fairly steady growth of revenue per ton-miles (Figure 2). However, in the last 4 years, this growth has slowed and railroads are looking for new ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs. How can the railroad industry utilize innovation and technology to advance their economic goals, while maintaining high levels of safety and customer service?
Option 4: Develop a research topic of your own.
Grading Process
Options 1 & 2: Video (10-15 minutes)
- Abstract (25 pts, due September 7) – Summarize the goal of your safety/educational video. Where will you film? What topics will be covered? How will this benefit future students / railroad employees? How will you use cutting edge technology? What is your timeline for the the project. How will you measure the success of the project? How will you know when you have achieved your goals for the project?
- Outline (50 pts, due October 12) – Complete video storyboard draft, see: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=23&cid=23&sublinkid=37
- Draft (75 pts, due November 16) – Raw video data is due along with video narration script and revised storyboard.
- Final Project / Presentation (200 pts, due Finals Week) – Submit final video and give formal presentation on the background and purpose of the video, how it was filmed, lessons learned and future work.
Options 3 & 4: Research Paper (5-8 pages, single spaced)
- Abstract (25 pts, due September 7) – Summarize the goal of your research. Which question will you address? What solution will you propose? Why was this solution chosen? How do you plan to study the solution? What data will be used? What are the expected results of this solution (cost savings, lives saved, etc)?
- Outline (50 pts, due October 12) – Complete an outline of your paper, indicating key points for the introduction, background/motivation, method used to select the solution, solution description, expected results/conclusions.
- Draft (75 pts, due November 16) – Rough draft of the paper is due, including all sources and references.
- Final Project / Presentation (200 pts, due Finals Week) – Submit research paper and give formal presentation covering background, motivation, methodology for selecting solution, solution description, results/conclusions and future work,
Technology
- Nikon KeyMission 360 camera
- Adobe Premiere
Skills
- Working in groups of peers
- Translating learning objectives into 360° video format
- Communicating best practices
Target Skills
- Training peers
- Communicating clearly
(Instructor’s) Lessons Learned
“During the Fall 2017 course, one team chose to apply for a Penn State grant through the Student Engagement Network. They were awarded the grant and this provided funding for them to travel a bit farther than the local Altoona area to do their filming. They chose to travel to Philadelphia to record a 360-degree video on the SEPTA light rail system. [See SEN project overview here: https://www.engage.psu.edu/2018/03/08/the-importance-of-connections-2/]. The SEN provides a great opportunity for students to receive funding in order to go “above and beyond” for course projects like these.”
“Students seemed to struggle with developing a storyboard. Extra instruction may be needed to help students understand the purpose of a story board and how it is created.”
“Having Media Commons staff come to campus to provide training on the 360º video production using Adobe Premiere was extremely helpful. After receiving this training, students had the tools they needed to process the videos and create a quality project.”
“It was helpful to have several deadlines throughout the semester to have students submit their story boards and then a draft video before the final project was due. This allowed me to provide some coaching for them to help them improve video quality.”
“The requirement for a 10 minute video appeared to be a bit too long in some cases. If there is not enough educational content, a shorter video should be sufficient.”