Abstract
The popularity of online education increases, many face-to-face electrical engineering courses are converted to be taught online. ABET outcomes must be considered to maintain equivalency between the online and face-to-face versions. The challenge exists on how to offer online students, who are physically dispersed, the same educational experience as the on-site students in terms of course content, hands-on lab experience, student support and assessment. This paper will discuss the conversion of a face-to-face 15-week lecture-lab Digital Design Fundamentals course to a 7.5-week equivalent online format. The creation, implementation and evaluation of the course will be discussed, focusing on how equivalency was maintained for the on-site and online versions. Specifically, the equivalency will be described in terms of course materials, hands-on labs, student support and assessment. The same course materials were used in both on-site and online versions. To have the same hands-on lab experience, students purchased an affordable lab kit to set up a home lab and perform the same lab exercises as in an on-campus lab. Piazza, an online Q&A discussion forum, was used to provide students with prompt answers to their questions, equivalent to but more convenient than on-campus office hours. Finally, to give the same assessment to online students as to on-site students, ProctorU, an online proctor service, was used in the final exam. The online course was first piloted in summer 2014 with 128 students enrolled. Since then, an additional 382 students took the course, which brought the total enrollment to 510 by the end of 2015. Student learning outcomes will be evaluated using an ABET assessment that was given to both on-site and online students. Student retention will be compared using DEW rate. Student perceptions of the course will be addressed based on anonymous teaching evaluations. Recommendations for future improvement will also be discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | 2016 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition |
Publisher | American Society for Engineering Education |
Volume | 2016-June |
State | Published - Jun 26 2016 |
Event | 123rd ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition - New Orleans, United States Duration: Jun 26 2016 → Jun 29 2016 |
Other
Other | 123rd ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | New Orleans |
Period | 6/26/16 → 6/29/16 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Engineering