Behavior of Science and Engineering Students to Digital Reading: Educational Disruption and Beyond

This paper investigates the impact of digital reading during educational disruption on science and engineering students' learning experience. Before the pandemic, some studies explored whether university students preferred using printed or digital resources for their academic readings. Amidst the pandemic, online learning became essential. Several studies showed students' preference for printed text. This paper extends a pilot study that was conducted during the first COVID-19 wave in China. A survey consisting of Likert questions and open questions was designed using MS-Forms. The survey was shared with the science and engineering students in Years 2–4 (Levels 1–3) of their study at SWJTU-Leeds Joint School, Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China. This covered students from four undergraduate programs: Civil Engineering with Transport, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science. In total, 223 students participated in this study. The survey was anonymous and was made available to students for a month. The participation rate is nearly 27%. Findings indicate that the behavior of science and engineering students toward digital reading was different than other majors, and it is generally favorable. The necessity for online learning during educational disruption has encouraged some students to develop their digital reading skills. © 2023 by the authors.

Engineering Student's Flexibility for Learning During Education Disruption

Due to the recent education disruption, engineering-related module classes have to rapidly and effectively move online because of unpredictable changes. For design-related technical modules, not much literature focused on how students and tutors can adopt the latest technologies in a relatively short span. This paper is an effort to find students' experiences and preferences around various interactive educational tools used in online synchronous teaching, such as interactive live zoom lectures, slide annotations, breakout rooms, recorded videos, and many more, which have been used at the University of Glasgow, Singapore, for the module known as Design and Manufacture 1, during the 2021 COVID-19 crisis and beyond. From this work, we were able to find how an online synchronous learning approach affects design engineering students' learning experience. To understand students' perception of online learning tools to be effective in enhancing their learning during a sudden change in the arrangement of physical classes to online classes due to the pandemic situation. Survey results were collected using google forms at the end of the trimester, which was offered to 65 students enrolled in the module based on the student experience. The response rate is around 70%. The survey result showed that students engaged very well with the technologies and took little time to adjust to online learning. Students found learning very comfortable using the latest online teaching tools during their online learning journey in the design engineering module. © 2022 IEEE.

Impact of Blended Learning on Engineering Student Attendance Post COVID-19

This paper aims at exploring the impact of applying a blended learning approach on the classroom attendance of engineering students post COVID-19. In this study, an interactive e-learning teaching approach, including synchronous online teaching delivery, was used as an alternative option in addition to regular face-to-face teaching. This approach was offered to all students attending two engineering modules, whether being still stranded off-campus or couldn't participate face-to-face for any reason. The major research question of this study is: given that engineering modules can be delivered effectively and interactively online, how will this affect student face-to-face attendance in the classroom? All students who attended the modules were asked to complete a quantitative survey where they could give their views on the quality of the tuition they had received and their opinions on the effectiveness of the online delivery. Evaluative data was obtained from a variety of means to provide a coherent case study. The paper presents comments and feedback from the students and some proposed implications for engineering student attendance when alternative online module delivery is an option. The outcomes of this study could help to inform pedagogies for future engineering education. © 2021 IEEE.

Engineering Student Attitudes to E-Reading in Remote Teaching Environments

Rational: Academic libraries are increasingly offering online e-books because they provide convenient access for students, cost savings, logistical advantages and significant portability. Current research suggests that this trend will continue in the future. In parallel with the growth of the e-book market and the development of e-book library collections, librarians and information scientists have conducted a number of research studies to investigate the impact of e-books on collection development: specifically, relating to the challenges and questions of e-book management and service. Consequently, researchers have considered it pertinent to explore the behaviours and strategies of e-book readers. Scope: In January 2020, institutions around the globe faced significant disruption due to COVID-19. Many universities accelerated their adoption of online/e-learning approaches in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Though e-books were at an early stage of adoption and the culture of using them in academia was slowly growing, they suddenly became the preferred option, if not the sole option because libraries were closed. Accordingly, some of the popular publishers;for example, Cambridge University Press, have offered online higher education textbooks as free-to-access. Over 700 textbooks were available for more than 2 months, regardless of whether those textbooks had previously been purchased. Furthermore, MIT Press offered complimentary access to its catalogue of e-books to support faculty and students who were working and learning remotely. Methodology: Despite increasing interest from librarians and learning technologists, prior to 2020, there were few well conducted studies investigating the habits of e-book users, especially amongst engineering students. Notwithstanding the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, an opportunity has arisen to survey student attitudes regarding the adoption of e-reading in an academic context. In this paper, a case study is presented that investigates the impact of the mandatory use of an e-book textbook in a final year undergraduate engineering module at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. The paper investigates Science and Engineering students' usage and attitudes towards e-books when using their available e-readers, which include PCs or portable devices. A cross-sectional survey containing 5 nominal questions, 2 open questions and 17 Likert questions was developed and deployed to final year students from two programmes: Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering. These students were attending the module titled Integrated Circuits and Systems. Findings: The results of this study highlight approaches for improving support for e-reading in an academic environment Of particular interest to librarians are student attitudes after their adjustment to e-books, which have implications for future purchasing decisions. Furthermore, student strategies for adjusting their learning techniques as a result of forced engagement with e-books illustrate preferences that can inform educators. In conclusion, the forced adoption of e-books has presented the opportunity to investigate student acceptance and strategies. This research provides evidence for purchasing decisions and strategies for adopting e-books in wider Higher Education syllabi. © 2020 IEEE.

Flexible Learning during Educational Disruption: A Case Study of Teaching Integrated Circuits Design

To date, there has been little written that explains how engineering-related tuition can be rapidly and effectively moved online. Furthermore, there is sparse literature written that focuses on how students can adapt to such technologies in a relatively short space of time. Finally, it is both necessary and prudent to increase discourse on the effective online teaching of technical design subjects. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of online tools such as interactive live lectures, slide annotation, and electronic whiteboard, for engaging students in electrical and electronic engineering education. The paper advances those debates by providing an evaluative analysis from the perspective of students taking an Integrated Circuits design module that was delivered during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. The major research question is: to what extent do electrical engineering students perceive online learning tools to be useful in enhancing their sudden learning change? Responses were collected using an online questionnaire that was offered to 23 students who enrolled in the module, and a 70% completion rate was received. The findings showed that students engaged well with the technologies, and they found them easy to use and beneficial for their learning. © 2020 IEEE.