Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim Electrical Engineering

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses

M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim

Electrical Engineering DepartmentKing Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals


International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University

M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia

Topics Topics CoveredCovered

IntroductionIntroduction e-Learning Activities at KFUPMe-Learning Activities at KFUPM

– Courses in the EE departmentCourses in the EE department– Development processDevelopment process– Interactivity & AnimationsInteractivity & Animations– WebCT Learning PlatformWebCT Learning Platform

Course Delivery & ImplementationCourse Delivery & Implementation Samples from online coursesSamples from online courses Student Survey ResultsStudent Survey Results ConclusionConclusion




IntroductionIntroduction

e-Learning is becoming very popular giving one the ability to learn new information or new skills whenever and wherever desired.




e-Learning Activities at KFUPMe-Learning Activities at KFUPM

The objectives of developing online courses at KFUPM are:

to exploit the potential of technology to enhance teaching and learning.

to provide interactive, convenient, and self-paced e-learning tools

to enhance teaching through interactive web-based supplementary material to traditional courses

to promote quality self-paced, learner-centered education




e-Learning Activities at e-Learning Activities at KFUPMKFUPM

EE 200 Digital Circuit DesignEE 200 Digital Circuit Design EE 201 Electric Circuit AnalysisEE 201 Electric Circuit Analysis EE 203 Electronic Circuits IEE 203 Electronic Circuits I EE 207 Signal & SystemsEE 207 Signal & Systems EE 303 Electronic Circuits IIEE 303 Electronic Circuits II EE 315 Probabilistic Methods in EEEE 315 Probabilistic Methods in EE EE 380 Control SystemsEE 380 Control Systems

Some of the courses developed in the EE Some of the courses developed in the EE Department at KFUPM :Department at KFUPM :




Online Course Development Online Course Development ProcessProcess

Preparation of course contentsPreparation of course contents Creation of e-material using Macromedia Creation of e-material using Macromedia

AuthorwareAuthorware Generation of audio speech files using Generation of audio speech files using

Text-to-speech softwareText-to-speech software Embedding of animations and interactive Embedding of animations and interactive

examplesexamples Review and refinement of e-materialReview and refinement of e-material Publishing of e-material for delivery on Publishing of e-material for delivery on

WebCT platformWebCT platform

Course development phases:




Interactivity & Interactivity & AnimationsAnimationsVery important elements of a good online

course

Interactive examples allow a student to interact with a circuit, change input values and watch how the output is affected

Intelligence of the technology is used in place of the instructor

Help in better understanding of concepts and ideas

Arouse students’ interest and encourage active participation in learning online




WebCT Learning WebCT Learning PlatformPlatformWebCT provides a robust set of tools,

functions, and features for teaching and learning .

Upload and download easily all course documents, announcements, calendar schedules, links and assignments

Timed online examinations

Grading and tracking of student quizzes with immediate feedback

Communications tools like discussion boards, email, chat and whiteboard




Course Delivery & Course Delivery & ImplementationImplementation

SupplementalSupplemental – online course material is – online course material is used only as supplementary materialused only as supplementary material

BlendedBlended – only a part of the online course – only a part of the online course material is taught completely online material is taught completely online without F2F class instruction. Class meets without F2F class instruction. Class meets weekly for discussion and quizweekly for discussion and quiz

Fully on-lineFully on-line – no F2F classes are offered. – no F2F classes are offered. Course material is delivered fully onlineCourse material is delivered fully online

Developed online courses are hosted on the Developed online courses are hosted on the WebCTWebCT platform and are utilized in the following waysplatform and are utilized in the following ways::




Course Delivery & ImplementationCourse Delivery & Implementation

After the completion of the course development, the online courses are offered initially as supplementary material .

Following this supplementary phase, the courses are offered in a blended mode to allow parts of the course to be taught completely online .

Surveys are conducted to get students’ feedback on the use of the online material.




Statistics About EE200 Access by Statistics About EE200 Access by StudentsStudents Total number of students registered in (051): Total number of students registered in (051): 180180

Number of students who accessed the online Number of students who accessed the online course web page: course web page: 177177

Number of students who filled the course survey: Number of students who filled the course survey: 8282

Number of hitsNumber of hits Number of studentsNumber of students– > 650> 650 11– > 500> 500 44– > 400> 400 99– > 300> 300 1717– > 200> 200 3737– > 100> 100 100100– > 50> 50 132132– > 3> 3 177177




Students Survey Students Survey ResultsResults




1 The clarity of graphics for illustration.

2 The clarity of voice.

3 The clarity of video, animations and/or simulations used in the course for illustration.

4 The number of video, animations and/or simulations used in the course for illustration.

5 Accessing the online material without technical problems. (If you faced any technical problems or problems in downloading content.)

6 The ease of navigation through the course.

7 The effectiveness of the use of communications methods (e.g. discussion, chat, e-mail) for learning.

8 The effectiveness of the exercises. (Practice problems, Assignments, Homework, quizzes and self evaluation)

9 You are in favor of this method of web-based instruction to replace the traditional face-to-face education.

Students Survey Students Survey QuestionsQuestions




ConclusionsConclusions

A highly successful online course delivery scheme, is the one A highly successful online course delivery scheme, is the one which includes the traditional F2F phasewhich includes the traditional F2F phase

Technical reliability issues have to be addressed, so that online Technical reliability issues have to be addressed, so that online material can be accessed without difficulty from the different material can be accessed without difficulty from the different locations of the learnerslocations of the learners

Students appreciated the following:Students appreciated the following:– The use of graphics and animationThe use of graphics and animation– The use of online communication methodsThe use of online communication methods– The organization of the online lecturesThe organization of the online lectures

They also showed some dissatisfaction with:They also showed some dissatisfaction with:– The number of examples used within the coursesThe number of examples used within the courses– The technical reliability of some courses that use slide The technical reliability of some courses that use slide

shows with voice, developed in Macromedia shows with voice, developed in Macromedia AuthorwareAuthorware

– Using the online lectures from computers at homeUsing the online lectures from computers at home




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Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim Electrical Engineering