WIP: Engaging Software Engineering Students in Synchronous and Asynchronous On-line Course

Abstract

Many engineering educators regard experiential learning as the most effective way to train future generations of engineers. The authors have noticed higher levels of engagement when students participate in class activities than when they are simply listening to lectures. These activities may include games, discussions, group activities, and peer reviews. Covid19 restrictions forced a shift to the online delivery of all courses at our university this year. Often, activities developed for face-to-face delivery of software engineering topics cannot be used without modification in the online delivery of either synchronous or asynchronous courses. This paper describes the authors' experiences using active learning materials in an online software engineering course. Students taking this course were allowed to take it either synchronously or asynchronously. The project team critically examined existing active learning materials used for face-to-face delivery of the course and adapted them for online course delivery. The authors monitored the levels of student engagement in each group and surveyed individual students to measure their perceived level of engagement with course activities. Our initial assessment data suggest that students attending synchronous class meetings were slightly more engaged with the course materials than those who did not. Students interacting with the active learning course materials, whether synchronously or asynchronously, felt more engaged with the course than they would have with a traditional online lecture course.