Pavement Interactive:About
From Pavement Interactive
Welcome to Pavement Interactive. This website is an Internet-based wiki for the pavement community. Its purpose is two-fold:
- Provide an open, editable knowledge repository for all things pavement. You can search, view, add and edit articles on any pavement subject there is.
- Provide an Internet location for the pavement community to collaborate (get together, share ideas, post information, etc.).
All you need is access to a computer with an Internet connection and you are "in". The following subsections describe the target audience and intended function of Pavement Interactive.
Target Audience
In a broad sense, Pavement Interactive is motivated by the desire to assist those both inside and outside the pavement community including contractors, government agencies, private consultants as well as future industry members. As a result, it is applicable to a broad range of potential users including engineers, architects, technicians, equipment operators, inspectors, managers, college/vocational students and, of course, the general public.
Function
The Pavement Interactive functions both as a collaboration space and a ready reference. Users can collaborate with one another through editing common pages, participating in groups or adding discussions to articles. Users can learn about pavements by using the articles as a reference to look up typical values, methods, practices and resources. Specific motivation for the Pavement Interactive is multifold:
- Provide a collaborative space on the Web for all things pavement.
- Provide a multimedia, interactive reference that will benefit those who want information on pavements.
- Provide a self-directed learning tool on pavements. Articles in the "core" series are arranged in logical order so a user could read through them as they might in a text or short course.
Collaboration Space
Pavement Interactive is a Wiki and as such has specific features that make collaboration easier. Anyone can sign up for an account and begin editing. There are several groups and committees that have active sites within Pavement Interactive used to keep information or communications current. Each article has an associated "discussion" page for any discussion about the article and individual articles can be "watched" by users (a process that allows the user to be automatically notified any time that particular article is changed).
Pavement Reference
Pavement Interactive is also an extensive pavement reference. Users can browse or use the search tool to look up typical values, methods, practices and resources. It can also be used to assemble multimedia pavement presentations or lectures through simple cut-and-paste of text, pictures, videos and animation.
Self-Directed Learning Tool
Pavement Interactive can also be used as a self-directed learning tool. The term “self-directed learning” refers to learning and teaching methods that rely on the direction and guidance of the learner such as distance learning, and learning from computers or video. As a learning tool, Pavement Interactive is designed to provide you with:
- A broad and well-rounded introduction to pavement in the areas of pavement types, materials, design considerations, mix design, structural design, construction, quality assurance, specifications, evaluation, maintenance and rehabilitation, and pavement management.
- The option to explore in-depth information where applicable. This is done by the use of detailed technical information and specific content generated by PTC Members.
- The option to investigate other sources of information on the Web or in print form through the use of extensive references.
After covering a pavement concept in the Pavement Interactive, you should, in general, be able to:
- Describe the pavement concept covered
- Describe the importance of this concept
- Describe when this concept applies
- Describe the typical equipment, methods and procedures used
- Discuss and interpret typical measurement values encountered
- Apply this concept in actual practice