Competitive Design of Web-Based Courses in Engineering Education

Abstract

Developing engineering study programs of high quality, able to satisfy customized needs, with flexible paths of study, with easy and rapid access to the most appropriate educational facilities and lecturers is a critical and challenging issue for the future of engineering education. The latest developments in communication and information technologies facilitate the creation of reliable solutions in this respect. Provision of web-based courses in engineering education represents one of these solutions. However, the absence of physical interactions with the training facilities and the specificity of remote collaboration with lecturers rise up additional challenges in designing a high-quality web-based engineering course. In order to define superior solutions to the complex set of requirements expressed by several stakeholders (e.g. students, lecturers, educational institutions and companies), a comprehensive planning of quality and an innovative approach of potential conflicting problems are required during the design process of web-based engineering courses. In this context, the present chapter introduces a generic roadmap for optimizing the design process of web-based engineering courses when a multitude of requirements and constrains are brought into equation. Advanced tools of quality planning and innovation are considered to handle the complexity of this process. The application of this methodology demonstrates that no unique, best-of-the-world solution exists in developing a web-based engineering course; therefore customized approaches should be considered for each course category to maximize the impact of the web-based educational process.