Cloud-based teaching in an engineering-physics course

This paper presents a transition from passive,
traditional delivery of teaching to an active, “cloud-based”
method, in a freshman engineering-physics course. The course is
delivered to a traditional on-campus cohort, and also to an offcampus
cohort by means of distance education and online
learning. Cloud teaching refers to delivering education by means
of websites and mobile-technology applications, where constant
student attendance at the host campus is not always necessary.
This is contrasted with traditional on-campus teaching, which
occurs in a classroom. The use of lectures has been reduced while
the use of tutorial and lab classes has increased. The new course
structure was delivered for the first time in 2014, has run for two
semesters, and will continue in 2015. It was found that student
performance in the new structure was no worse than that in the
older structure. Off-campus students in general welcomed the
changes, while on-campus satisfaction did not change from
before to after the transition.