e-Review Program: An alternative online interaction for a first-year unit of Engineering Mechanics using a virtual classroom

Abstract

For large first-year units such as Engineering Mechanics 100, a lack of close interactive consultations between individual students and lecturers, and opportunities for weekly topic reviews precludes the enhancement of effective learning outcomes. Such drawbacks can lead to students’ disengagement that ultimately results in their academic underperformance. This e-Review project investigated the effective use of an alternative flexible learning method in which the interactive online teaching tool Elluminate Live was combined with a visual-aid graphics tablet to conduct the weekly e-Review sessions and revisions of past-semester examination questions. As opposed to the conventional in-class review in unit teaching, the difference of the e-Review program lies in its convenient electronic access to unit revision activities through the monitoring of lecturers (as moderators) in a virtual classroom. It is shown that the use of Elluminate Live offers supplementary academic support that is beneficial to students through more direct feedback than can be achieved in a real class. Students also recognise the higher utility of e-Review materials that allow for subsequent viewing of recorded e-Review sessions.