Improving student learning while converting a computer architecture course to online format

Abstract

A required Computer Architecture course for Computer Science majors was converted to online form in Spring 2011. In this paper we discuss the changes made to make the course successful online, especially in content preparation, course organization, and the construction and handling of assignments. We discuss why we feel the revised course produces improved student learning in terms of the basic principles of scaffolding, self-explanation and multimodal learning. We also discuss how we made the course practical to administer on an ongoing basis. We hope that this experience will be helpful to other faculty members planning to convert courses in Computer Science or Engineering to an online format.