Abstract:

The Covid-19 pandemic suddenly appeared and unexpectedly a type of distance learning education process had to be immediately applied in practice. There are studies showing that distance learning is not as good and effective as the conventional face-to-face approach. In this regard, a thorough investigation had to be done in order the right distance learning methodologies to be found according to the peculiarities of the different subjects. The main requirements are the distance education to be close to the current quality levels, to offer a fluent trouble-free education process and to allow comparatively fast real-time application. The investigation led to the conclusion that the hybrid distance learning type is the best option chosen between the synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid ones. Although the hybrid form is chosen, it has to be adapted to the specifics of each separate subject.

The aim of this work is to present the author’s developed methodologies of work and experiences with distance learning in the engineering field. The presented practical solutions are intended to help other teachers to find the appropriate form of high-quality distance learning education process for their own case.

The author leads the following education courses: fundamental course of “Programmable logic controllers” (PLC), “Semiconductor electronic components” and “Power supplies”. All presented practical solutions are intended to solve certain problems with the education processes of those led by the author subjects, but those examples could be applied in other fields too. The practical examples include the names of products and services, not for advertisement, but because they have proven to be good solutions for the education process from author’s perspective.

The main distance learning types are compared together with the common present face-to-face education one in order to become clear that each education type has its benefits and drawbacks. The different education types are appropriate for different subjects, parts of subjects or education cases.

The appropriateness of the different distance education methodologies for different cases is demonstrated through practical applications of the different distance learning types for parts of three subjects led by the author. The different parts of the subjects are lectures, exercises and exams. All identical parts of the different subjects are presented consecutively in order their idiosyncrasies to be directly visible. The peculiarities of the individual subject parts are explained. The main benefits and drawbacks of the chosen distance education approaches, together with students’ feedback are presented.

Keywords:

Distance, learning, education, synchronous, asynchronous, hybrid, methodology.