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Synchronous Delivery of Engineering Technology Courses to a Remote Location − issues and challenges related to Technology and students’ learning Abstract

Distance delivery of a course is a compromise between a true online classroom and a classroom having live audience. The issues and challenges related to synchronous delivery of lecture and laboratory based engineering technology courses to a remote location are discussed in this paper. In summer (2007), the institution has funded a project to develop the instructional materials for distance delivery of a course in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET). The course have been offered to two groups of students, one as live audience on main campus and the other group at an extended campus through audio-video network. The delivery technologies included were Polycom Audiovisual conferencing system and Virtual Network Computing (VNC).

This paper focuses on the challenges (and dealing with these challenges) as it relates to implementation of technology for synchronous bi-directional delivery and assessment of students’ learning through such delivery. Assessments of students’ learning are discussed in terms of pedagogy, learning environment, and students’ engagement. The benefit of such delivery as it is applied to an urban/commuter campus are also discussed from students and institutional perspective.

Introduction

Purdue University Calumet is a comprehensive University that offers Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, Management, Education, Nursing and Liberal Arts. It is primarily a commuter campus with 9600 students. Additionally, 1400 students take classes at its Academic Learning Center (ALC) which is 17 miles away from the main campus. Seventy percent of Purdue University Calumet students work more than 30 hours a week and many of these students are enrolled for courses scheduled for evening hours. The institution is striving to accommodate more of its students by delivering course work at an accelerated rate, and through alternative deliveries that includes distance delivery of courses at ALC. This will allow students from surrounding three counties in Indiana to attend and take courses at a location closer to their home.

This paper describes the initiation, development and delivery of a laboratory-based ECET course through the synchronous distance delivery (SDD). The term SDD means that both distance learning and live classroom learning are taking place at the same time.

The objective of this initiative was to identify issues and challenges related to such delivery through actually delivery of one course (as pilot). This would allow identify areas that can be improved for effective delivery of similar courses in future through this delivery method.

This paper focuses on the challenges (and dealing with these challenges) as it relates to implementation of technology for synchronous bi-directional delivery and assessment of

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Hossain, A., & Latif, N. (2008, June), Synchronous Delivery Of Engineering Technology Courses To A Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--3844