Title: A comparison of two instructional approaches in teaching underground rock bolt installation with a Jackleg Drill

Authors: David Nutakor, Derek B. Apel, R. Larry Grayson

Addresses: Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation, (A member of the Rio Tinto Group), Bingham Canyon Mine Administration Building, 8362 West 10200 South, Bingham Canyon, Utah 84006, USA. ' School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, University of Alberta, 3-045 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, Edmonton AB T6G 2G7, Canada. ' Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 103A Hosler Building, USA

Abstract: An integrated hypermedia training tool on underground rock bolting was evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methodologies to compare it with the traditional method of training underground rock bolters. Usability experiments performed underscore the need to evaluate a new product to ensure that it meets the requirements of users. Statistical results from comparative experiment indicate that a task must be sufficiently complex in order to render a traditional paper-based method less effective than a computer-based method. Additionally, participants in the computer-based group (n = 25) rated the training effectiveness more positively than those in the paper-based group (n = 25).

Keywords: underground rock bolting; jackleg drill; usability testing; hypermedia training; mining.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMME.2009.027255

International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering, 2009 Vol.1 No.3, pp.248 - 260

Published online: 18 Jul 2009 *

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