Get Your Introduction to Engineering Course Ready for Online Teaching

Teaching an in-person intro to engineering course is challenging enough already. Now you might be faced with teaching the course in the online environment. Here are some best practices to get you started.

Learning Management System

Your LMS, e.g. Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, etc., provides all the tools to get your Introduction to Engineering course page ready for online teaching. A good structured and organized course page is essential in general, but even more so for virtual courses. This is where the students should find all the information, resources, assignments, expectations, online etiquette, syllabus, etc. Although you might think that all the information students need is in your Syllabus, for online courses a good practice is to break information into smaller chunks making use of modules or pages in your LMS course page. Here are some ideas what you should incorporate into your LMS course page as modules or pages:

Welcome Page

Introduce yourself and the course with a welcome message and/or short video. Provide a brief overview of your course, your expectations, your role and instructions for how students can get started, including links to resources for getting started including a link to your online classroom.

Are you ready for Online Learning?

Provide your online etiquette for your course, for example here is mine (please adjust to your needs):

• Make sure your full name (first and last) appears in ZOOM (or whatever platform you are using).
• Mute yourself when not speaking. Feel free to mute the video as well to conserve bandwidth.
• Be on time (as you would for a regular class).
• Ensure your technology works correctly.
• Pay attention (it can be already difficult to pay attention in an in-person class room, it’s even more difficult to pay attention in a virtual class room).
• Use the raise hand feature (click on participants and then raise hand) or type your question into the chat. I will monitor both and will get to your questions at a good stopping point during my presentation.

Although you most likely will cover what it means to be ready for online learning during your first class meetings, you should provide resources for students how to prepare for online learning. There are many resources available and your institution might provide already resources for students. If not, here are some links to videos for students to get online ready:

• Introduction to Online Learning
• Organizing for Online Success
• Online Study Skills and Managing Time
• Communication Skills for Online Learning
• Online Reading Strategies

Meet Your Instructor

Provide a profile picture of yourself, your name (your pronouns), email, office hours (and how students can attend online), and a short bio of yourself.

Course Information and Materials

• Course title, number, section, days, times, location and format (synchronous/asychronous/hybrid/face-to-face).
• Course description from catalog with any additional information specific to your course.
• Requires materials: Textbook, etc.
• Student learning outcomes
• Course requirements: quizzes, homework, exams, projects, class participation, etc. Include a statement about the expected time that students will need to spend studying/doing coursework outside of class and specific information about whether collaboration or team projects are involved. List weekly or regular assignments, such as reading or homework.

Course Schedule

Tip: For virtual courses a good practice is to break material into smaller chunks. Establish a pattern of regular activity for the students, e.g. reading, quizzes, etc. and corresponding due dates. Use your LMS capabilities to help students keep track of due dates.

Assignment and Grades

State all the information regarding assignment and grades.

• Statement of how letter grades for the course are determined, including +/- grades if you use them
• List of the percentage weight assigned to various class assignments
• Extra credit options, if available
• Policies on late or missed work, including exams
• Policies on attendance, tardiness, and class participation

Accessibility and Diversity

Provide a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement for your course. Below are links to some example statements:

• Diversity Syllabus Statements (Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University)
• Diversity Statements on a Syllabus (Eberly Center, Carnegie Mellon University)
• Inclusive Statements to Add To Syllabi (Chico State University)
• Diversity and Inclusion Syllabus Statements (examples) (Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University)

In addition, provide additional resources regarding equity and inclusivity, for example (check your campus resources):

• Racial Equity Guide Glossary – common vocabulary to help avoid misunderstandings
• Inclusive Language

Add information about your campus disability resource center and accessibility.

Attendance, Participation, and Late Work

This should be self-explanatory what you need to list here but especially for an online course explain if attendance is required (and if so how you will “take” attendance), what constitutes being an actively engaged student in your course, and under what circumstances you accept late work, for example if students experience technical difficulties, internet outage etc. Add any additional University policies you think students should know about.

Academic Honesty

Provide a statement about academic honesty and refer students to Section 8.7 in Studying Engineering. Provide a link to your institution’s academic integrity policy.

Student Resources

Provide links to student support services provided by your institution. Services vary between institution but here are some services you should link to:

• Academic Advising
• Career Services
• Disability Resource Center
• Health and Wellbeing Counseling Services
• Multicultural Center
• LMS student support/help
• Student Academic Services
• Tutoring Resources
• Writing Center

Technology and Browsers

Provide information about the technical requirements, e.g. Mac or PC, supported browsers, mobile devices etc. You should find this information from your campus IT department.

Where to Find Help 

Encourage students to contact you if they have questions about the course, assignments, concepts covered etc. Restate or link to your office hours. Add contact information for your campus IT service, LMS student help and information for student with disability.

Tip: Although some students will have used LMS in high school, it is best to assume your students do not know how to use your LMS course page. Provide a walk-through during the first class meeting and post the recording (for asynchronous courses post the walk-through).

Teaching Online

After you set up your LMS course page, now comes the teaching part. How do you provide an effective online learning environment for your students? You can find a plethora of information on best practice for online teaching online (pun intended). Luckily, many best practices for online teaching are the same as for in-person course such as:

• Course content aligns with learning objectives
• Set clear expectations, due dates, course policies, etc.
• Provide prompt feedback to guide students to enhance their learning
• Reinforce important concepts and skills
• Show students how to apply what they are learning
• Show your passion, personality and expertise to students
• …

So, the good news is that you already have many of these best practices in place from when you previously taught the course (and if you are a first-time instructor, you are not at an disadvantage since, as mentioned, these best practices are identical between online and in-person courses).

Here are some ideas specifically aimed at delivering an introduction to engineering course online:

• Chunk material into smaller “bites”. Intersperse your lecture with polls, discussions, group activities (for example Zoom breakout groups), guest lectures etc.
• Everything takes longer online, for you and for the students. So, don’t be shy to adjust your content and expectations accordingly. Focus on what is important: student success.
• Keep in mind that students might be more stressed as a result of the current situation.
• Make use of the reflective assignments provided in Studying Engineering. Add a reflection exercise asking the students to think about what they will do differently once they attend in-person courses.
• Show your face. Students will appreciate seeing you (even if it is only on a screen).
• Don’t assume you need to be present 24/7 just because your course is online (you wouldn’t be for an in-person course either). Online teaching can be exhausting and the students need you at your best “game”.
• Student engagement with the course/material is even more challenging in an online format. Implement icebreakers so students get to know each other (just search “icebreaker online teaching” for ideas) and implement more group projects/discussions/assignments.
• Make use of the advantages of online delivery: Invite guest speakers from industry (who otherwise couldn’t travel to your institution), post recordings of your lectures (and keep them, maybe they come in handy once you switch back to an in-person delivery again), encourage students to attend your office hours (more flexibility in timing and off-campus/commuter students can attend without having to come to campus), etc.
• Cover (at least) Chapters 1 through 6 of Studying Engineering. Support material such as PowerPoint slides are available on the discovery-press-books.com webpage. Quizzes for the 5^th edition are available on request (we can provide the quizzes for CANVAS, Moodle (XML) or Aiken format).
• We recommend getting the print version of Studying Engineering to your students. Students will spend a lot of time in front of screens already in the Fall, so having an actual book to read can be beneficial.