Teaching with ENVI Yields Benefits In the Classroom and Beyond

Professor Stuart Phinn of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, decided to start using ENVI^® software to teach advanced image processing two years ago. "We made the switch to ENVI because the teaching staff had become increasingly frustrated with the direction the packaged programs were headed. The program we had been using had become too automated and push button," said Phinn. While ENVI also provides automated tools, the program allows for students to also access input variables and algorithms that enable them to better understand the theory behind the programming.

The problem Phinn observed was that his students were becoming proficient at using the software, but weren't actually learning the course material. "Students would input the data, "tell" the program what type of output image they wanted, push a button and get the image," said Phinn. "They had no idea of the actual mathematical or statistical operations or the input variables used to get the image."

ENVI: Teaching Image Processing the Way We Learn

Phinn set out to find a software package to help his students understand the concepts behind the work being done. He found it with ENVI. "ENVI is much more intuitive to how students naturally learn, and it can accommodate a range of learning and teaching styles," according to Phinn. Rather than just pushing a button, with ENVI a student has the opportunity to get into the details of the actual image processing algorithm or operation, go through sequential steps and see the individual parts it takes to get the output image. According to Phinn, in an academic situation where the theory and the mathematics is part of the curriculum, "it is helpful to be able to show students what the bits and pieces are and how they go together."

Phinn didn't find it difficult to switch to teaching with ENVI in terms of curriculum development. Simply by leveraging the ENVI tutorials, he was able to go through exercises and pull out steps that explained how to teach the material in detail. This year Phinn will also be switching the introductory course over to ENVI. By switching over, Phinn anticipates he will be able to teach much more in the introductory class and therefore increase what is covered in the advance class.

An Investment in ENVI Pays Off Huge

It was evident almost immediately after the advanced class began using ENVI that the payoff was going to be big. "It was clear that we were getting back a higher quality of assignments from the students and that their understanding of the procedures and theory behind them was much deeper," said Phinn. In the classroom, students were still doing tasks like taking an image and turning it into a map through a series of steps. The difference was with ENVI, they knew how they came to those results. That also meant students could retrace and check their steps to make sure their results were accurate.

Before switching to ENVI, Phinn said his students had limited flexibility and a narrow skill set. "When you took them out of the box, they couldn't tell you what they had done or how to replicate it. That just isn't how the work world works," said Phinn. "You can't work for an NGO, private company or a governmental agency and not have the flexibility to work outside of a particular push-button software package."

Phinn thinks the implications of teaching with ENVI will reach far beyond the walls of academia. "Teaching image processing with ENVI software means we are producing a skilled workforce that is more flexible and knowledgeable and ready to get to work." No more push button programs in the classroom means no more push button workers in the workforce. "When students develop a deeper understanding of the theory and practical implementation of image processing, they become able to solve varied and complex problems." said Phinn. That is how the work world works.