Effectiveness of e-learning components in building stronger foundation in engineering fundamentals

One of the challenging issues in teaching foundation level university engineering courses is that such courses are often organized and taught in large classrooms with little opportunity for interactions and student participation. The course material is typically presented in abstract forms such as equations and one-line diagrams. This paper presents a case study where a substantially different approach was implemented in teaching a foundation electrical engineering course with extensive use of e-learning components, videos and animations for explaining fundamental principles using examples, scenarios and practical applications that students could relate to. Additionally it allowed the students ample opportunities to learn at their own pace. Student feedback showed that students developed better understanding of concepts and felt more empowered when these innovative teaching methods and strategies were used, and found the overall learning process to be more effective and enjoyable.