Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim Electrical Engineering Department King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Topics Covered Introduction Introduction e-Learning Activities at KFUPM e-Learning Activities at KFUPM – Courses in the EE department – Development process – Interactivity & Animations – WebCT Learning Platform Course Delivery & Implementation Course Delivery & Implementation Samples from online courses Samples from online courses Student Survey Results Student Survey Results Conclusion Conclusion

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Introduction e-Learning is becoming very popular giving one the ability to learn new information or new skills whenever and wherever desired.

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia e-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

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia e-Learning Activities at KFUPM EE 200 Digital Circuit Design EE 200 Digital Circuit Design EE 201 Electric Circuit Analysis EE 201 Electric Circuit Analysis EE 203 Electronic Circuits I EE 203 Electronic Circuits I EE 207 Signal & Systems EE 207 Signal & Systems EE 303 Electronic Circuits II EE 303 Electronic Circuits II EE 315 Probabilistic Methods in EE EE 315 Probabilistic Methods in EE EE 380 Control Systems EE 380 Control Systems Some of the courses developed in the EE Department at KFUPM :

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Online Course Development Process Preparation of course contents Preparation of course contents Creation of e-material using Macromedia Authorware Creation of e-material using Macromedia Authorware Generation of audio speech files using Text-to- speech software Generation of audio speech files using Text-to- speech software Embedding of animations and interactive examples Embedding of animations and interactive examples Review and refinement of e-material Review and refinement of e-material Publishing of e-material for delivery on WebCT platform Publishing of e-material for delivery on WebCT platform Course development phases:

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Interactivity & Animations Very 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

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia WebCT Learning Platform WebCT 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, , chat and whiteboard

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Course Delivery & Implementation Supplemental – online course material is used only as supplementary material Blended – only a part of the online course material is taught completely online without F2F class instruction. Class meets weekly for discussion and quiz Fully on-line – no F2F classes are offered. Course material is delivered fully online Developed online courses are hosted on the WebCT platform and are utilized in the following ways:

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Course 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.

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Statistics About EE200 Access by Students Total number of students registered in (051): 180 Total number of students registered in (051): 180 Number of students who accessed the online course web page: 177 Number of students who accessed the online course web page: 177 Number of students who filled the course survey: 82 Number of students who filled the course survey: 82 Number of hitsNumber of students Number of hitsNumber of students – > 6501 – > 5004 – > 4009 – > – > – > – > – > 3177

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Students Survey Results

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia The clarity of graphics for illustration. 1 The clarity of voice. 2 The clarity of video, animations and/or simulations used in the course for illustration. 3 The number of video, animations and/or simulations used in the course for illustration. 4 Accessing the online material without technical problems. (If you faced any technical problems or problems in downloading content.) 5 The ease of navigation through the course. 6 The effectiveness of the use of communications methods (e.g. discussion, chat, ) for learning. 7 The effectiveness of the exercises. (Practice problems, Assignments, Homework, quizzes and self evaluation) 8 You are in favor of this method of web-based instruction to replace the traditional face-to-face education. 9 Students Survey Questions

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Conclusions A highly successful online course delivery scheme, is the one which includes the traditional F2F phase A highly successful online course delivery scheme, is the one which includes the traditional F2F phase Technical reliability issues have to be addressed, so that online material can be accessed without difficulty from the different locations of the learners Technical reliability issues have to be addressed, so that online material can be accessed without difficulty from the different locations of the learners Students appreciated the following: Students appreciated the following: – The use of graphics and animation – The use of online communication methods – The organization of the online lectures They also showed some dissatisfaction with: They also showed some dissatisfaction with: – The number of examples used within the courses – The technical reliability of some courses that use slide shows with voice, developed in Macromedia Authorware – Using the online lectures from computers at home

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Education by Developing Online Courses International Conference on Engineering Education 2006, Qassim University M. Mohandes, M. Dawoud, A. Hussain, M. Deriche, A. Balghonaim: EE Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia Thank You Comments, Q & A