Though some students grumble about online classes, departments are racing to find new ways to keep students engaged.

The School of Engineering is adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic by creating its first distance labs.

The labs, developed by Afshin Zahraee, will be used for two classes, the Mechanical Engineering Technology and Construction Engineering and Management Technology.

Students will work with lab materials from remote locations. The labs can be followed along by video. Students then record their findings in a lab report. The new distance labs are set to roll out spring 2021.

The school has also increased its use of discussion boards to keep students engaged.

 “The discussion board and having students interact with the class and with each other as a part of homework weekly has allowed me to see what students need in terms of help and resources, [and] allows me to create a forum where they can discuss all the recent technologies,” said Zahraee.

Because the pandemic has transformed instruction at PNW, Zahraee saw the need to adapt, but the School of Engineering is not alone.

The Center for Crime, Forensics, and Security Analysis has also been evolving how PNW teaches forensics.

“The pandemic created a unique challenge for us,” said Christian Westring, the center’s director. “We needed to maintain the quality of education for the students. … It forced us to be creative.”

Westring established partnerships with local labs and industries to provide students necessary hands-on experience, but remotely.

For example, PNW provides samples for analysis to local laboratories which perform analyses and provide results to the center. It then assigns students to review findings.

“This has given our students the ability to get the same experience that they would get in the traditional classroom, plus the added benefits of building relationships with professionals in the field,” said Westring.

The department has also started to write more grant proposals to attract more money for research and design more programs to engage students.

Westring said the forced-adaptation actually offers students some advantages and may become permanent.

“We were all used to the tried-and-true methods of the modern university, but these changes we have made to accommodate students during this time can impact how students interact with the department in general,” Westring said. “The department has become more inclusive to students.”

The attempts to make the remote learning experience more engaging comes at a time where students may find themselves feeling burned-out with the changes brought by COVID-19.

“The Zoom lectures become tiring after a while, coming from a program where I want to be more hands-on,” said senior Ryan De St Jean. “It’s nice to see that I might be able to get my hands moving again.”