Synchronous distance delivery of an electrical and computer engineering program

This paper describes the synchronous distance delivery of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) courses between the main campus of the University of West Florida in Pensacola and the Fort Walton Beach (FWB) campus. The FWB campus is located about 55 miles from the main campus and is in an area that contains a number of high-tech industries and is in close proximity to Eglin Air Force Base. Given the high-tech industries in the area, the university determined that it would be beneficial to extend its ECE program to FWB via distance delivery. With financial support from industries in the FWB area, synchronous delivery of ECE courses to the FWB campus began in the Fall of 2002. This paper describes the technologies used for synchronous distance delivery, changes in teaching methods induced by distance learning technology, a discussion of the benefits and limitations experienced, and feedback on the program from students at the remote campus. It also describes steps being taken to mitigate some of the limitations experienced so far: one of these steps is a new requirement for students in the program to have tablet PCs. This is expected to facilitate better interaction between faculty and students at the remote campus