Examining student attitudes to improve an undergraduate online engineering course

Abstract

Due to the advent of technology and the world wide web, online engineering courses have gained prominence and have become a popular way to learn new content. Universities around the country, in addition to traditional face-to-face courses, are taking advantage of technology and the web to offer online courses to their engineering students. Despite the sudden increase in online courses, students' attitudes toward these courses remain unknown. This study examined students' attitudes towards an online engineering course, specifically determining what students found most and least helpful when learning online, what students liked and disliked about the course, and what they perceived were the advantages and disadvantages of taking the online course. The study examined an engineering course titled, Mechanics of Materials, an introductory mechanics course for sophomore engineering students from Aerospace, Mechanics, Civil and Construction, and other engineering disciplines. Historically, the course has been taught in a traditional lecture class, but this study examined a section taught online. Findings show that students liked the availability of the lecture and sample problem videos and liked pacing their learning to their own needs.