Beyond Recorded Lectures: Redesigning Online Engineering Courses for Active Learning

Moving a rigorous engineering course online requires more than recording lectures and uploading materials to an LMS. This session shares lessons from a recent initiative to redesign graduate Electrical and Computer Engineering courses for instructor-supported asynchronous online learning.
Using examples from our practical course-development and delivery processes, the session will demonstrate a lesson learned and best practice that transforms long engineering course lectures into online structured learning experiences through purposeful video chunking, lecture overviews, measurable learning objectives, embedded knowledge checks, assessments, discussions, and consistent organization in Canvas, while maintaining accessibility.
The session will also examine how AI-assisted workflows can support instructional design development, including video chunk suggestions, generating and refining learning objectives and checkpoint questions, while keeping faculty, TA, and instructional designer expertise and human judgment at the center. We will demonstrate how Kaltura MediaSpace is used for in-video interactive questions and then integrated directly into Canvas. We also discuss and detail our implementation of enterprise tools: leveraging Microsoft Copilot for instructional design workflow and Microsoft Loop to manage development workflows between instructional designers and student workers.
Participants will leave with a reusable framework for moving from content delivery toward intentionally designed online learning experiences.

About this event:

Presenters:

• Fitsum Abebe, Research Scientist, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Abrita Chakravarty, INSTRUCTOR and INSTRUCTION DESIGNER, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Track:

Skill Trees — Every great quest starts with the right skills. Showcase tools, platforms, and practices that empower instructors, support student success, and open new paths for teaching and learning.

Experience Needed:

All Levels

Learning Outcome:

Participants will be able to explain a practical framework for redesigning lecture-based courses into engaging asynchronous online learning experiences, including approaches for video chunking, in-video interactivity, course alignment, Canvas course organization, AI-assisted instructional design with Microsoft Copilot, and instructional project management with Microsoft Loop.

Additional Keywords:

online learning, instructional design, Canvas, engineering education, asynchronous learning, course redesign, active learning, AI-assisted instructional design, video chunking, formative assessment, accessibility