Less talk, more action

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The Online Revolution From e-books to MOOCs
Coping, adapting, embracing
Frank Vahid UC Riverside
Intro
Smita Bakshi Zyante CEO
Systems
Diane Rover Iowa State Univ.
Research
Yacob Astatke Morgan State Univ.
Experiences
Options
FV
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OUTLINE

• Introduction
• Overview of MSU and our ECE program
• Need for online ECE program
• Online ECE Course Design
• Current status of our online course development
• Future Work

Growing the Future, Leading the World
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INTRODUCTION

• The use of technology in the classroom has
  greatly impacted engineering education during the
  last 20 years.
• BUT, traditional method of teaching, i.e.
  lecturing or chalk-and-talk is still dominant.
• Instructors need to deliver course content that
  students can access from anywhere at any time.
• WHY todays students expect it !!!

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Overview of MSU

• Morgan State University (MSU) is an HBCU
  located in Baltimore, Maryland
• 8,000 students (Institution)
• 1,100 students (Engr)
• 500 students (ECE)

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Overview of our ECE program

• MSU is a member of Historically Black Colleges
  and Universities (HBCU) 105 total
• Only 14 HBCUs offer engineering programs
• MSU engineering program established in 1984
• Currently the 1 producer of African American
  engineers in the state of MD in ECE, CE, IE.

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The need for Online ECE program

• Trends in higher education for the past 10 years
  have shown that enrollments in online courses or
  online degree programs have been growing
  substantially faster (17) than overall higher
  education enrollment (1.2 ).
• One discipline that has lagged behind all others
  in the development and delivery of online
  education is engineering.

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The need for Online ECE program

• The majorities of online engineering programs
  currently available are at the Master of Science
  level, and are geared towards professional
  engineers.
• Only a handful universities nationwide offer
  undergraduate BS degree program completely
  online.
• Need in MD 2005 Base Realignment and Closure
  (BRAC).

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The need for Online ECE program

• Projected to bring 28,000 positions to the state,
  primarily in the Harford and Anne Arundel County
  areas
• Problem no four year engineering program in
  that area.
• Only two Community Colleges ?
• Harford (HCC)
• Cecil Community Colleges (CCG)

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The need for Online ECE program

• Students enrolled at HCC , and CCG that are
  interested in pursuing engineering as a transfer
  student, have to travel or relocate to
• MSU ? Baltimore City (26 miles),
• UMBC ? Baltimore County (42 miles),
• UMCP ? Prince Georges County (65 miles)
• Univ of DE ? Newark Delaware (35 miles)
• MSU has signed a MOU with HCC to offer an
  Electrical Engineering degree program.

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The need for Online ECE program

• MSU will deliver a combination of face-to-face
  (F2F) courses on the campus of HCC and online
  courses that will be offered directly from the
  campus of MSU.
• MSU offers to first and only completely online
  ECE program in the State of MD

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Online ECE Course Design

• Course Development Approach
• Phase I - Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy
• Phase II - Implementation of the Panopto FocusTM
  Lecture Capture technology
• Phase III - Implementation of the Adobe ConnectTM
  Video Conferencing software

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Online ECE Course Design
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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

• Project funded by the NSF in 2008. It involves 5
  universities
• Goal to enable hands-on exploration of STEM 
• education  principles.

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

• It is a small, and inexpensive (150) hardware
  platform for use in a home, classroom or remote
  environment.
• Advantage ? it replaces a rack of equipment that
  is equivalent to 5,000 to 10,000 USD.

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

• The MS-Board contains the 6 different
  instruments
• 2 Channel Scope Function Generator
• 4V -4V DC power supplies
• 16 Digital I/O ports Spectrum Analyzer

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

• We redesigned various laboratory and design
  experiments using sound pedagogy.
• Key issue device is USB powered ? Max Voltage
  is 4V or 4 Volts. We also use 9V batteries

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of Online Labs on Filter
  Design using the Agilent X Series Scopes with LAN
  Access (1,000 USD)

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of Online Labs on Filter
  Design using the Agilent X Series Scopes with LAN
  Access

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of Online Labs on Filter
  Design using the Agilent X Series Scopes with LAN
  Access

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

• We tested the new technology and pedagogy on face
  to face (F2F), i.e. regular students for 2 years.
• Students completed their design projects at home,
  in their dormitories, or in the library.

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Implementation of the Mobile StudioTM
  Technology and Pedagogy

• Advantage for students ? freedom to work on
  design projects anywhere/anytime.
• Advantage for department ? decreases the wear and
  tear on expensive equipment.

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase I Comparison of Portable ECE Lab
  equipment

• MS Board (RPI) ? 150
• MyDaq (TI) ? 200-250
• Electronics Explorer (Digilent) ? 199 - 250
• Agilent X-Series ScopeFG ? 1,000
• Analog Discovery (Digilent) ? 99 - 150

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase II Implementation of the Panapto FocusTM
  lecture capture technology

• We used it to capture and record a synchronized
  version of the text (using PowerPoint), audio,
  and video from the daily lectures of the F2F ECE
  courses.
• Goal allow online students to follow the
  lectures and class discussions that occur in the
  regular courses.

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase II Implementation of the Panapto FocusTM
  lecture capture technology

• The online students follow the lessons at their
  own pace and time live stream or podcasts
• They can also send their questions to the
  instructor using email, video conferencing, chat
  rooms, or over the telephone.

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase II Implementation of the Panapto FocusTM
  lecture capture technology

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase II Implementation of the Panapto FocusTM
  lecture capture technology

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase II Implementation of the Panapto FocusTM
  lecture capture technology

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Online ECE Course Design

• Phase II Implementation of the Panapto FocusTM
  lecture capture technology

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Online ECE Course Design
Phase III Implementation of the Adobe ConnectTM
video conferencing software

• To allow the online students to complete their
  project and laboratory experiment demonstrations
  completely online.
• Course instructor can schedule an online project
  or laboratory experiment demonstration time with
  students.

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Online ECE Course Design
Phase III Implementation of the Adobe ConnectTM
video conferencing software
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Online ECE Course Design
Phase III Implementation of the Adobe ConnectTM
video conferencing software
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Online ECE Course Design
Phase III Implementation of the Adobe ConnectTM
video conferencing software
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Online ECE Course Design
Phase III Implementation of the Adobe ConnectTM
video conferencing software
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Online ECE Course Design
Phase III Implementation of the Adobe ConnectTM
video conferencing software
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Results of our Online Courses

• The use of the lecture video capture technology
  has allowed the online students to perform as
  well as the F2F students (Electric Circuits)

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Results of our Online Courses

• The use of the lecture video capture technology
  has allowed the online students to perform as
  well as the F2F students (Signals and Systems)

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Conclusion and Future Work

• MSU has completed the development of its online
  B.S. ECE program (Fall 2013-start)
• We are willing to share our experiences with
  other institutions that are interested.

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Acknowledgments

• NSF Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center
  (ERC)
• NSF Center for Mobile Hands-On STEM Education
  
• Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
• QUESTIONS ????