2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

An Approach to Transitioning an In-Person Software Engineering Class to an Online Live Class using Institution Guidelines

Presented at Software Engineering Division (SWED) Technical Session 1

Given the advances in video conferencing technology and classes being forced to transition to online synchronous classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions of higher education (IHEs) defined a protocol for transitioning to online live (synchronous) classes. This protocol was necessary at many IHEs due to the poor learning outcomes that accompanied the rapid transition to online live classes and the ad hoc manner in which the transition was done during the pandemic.

In this paper, we report on experiences at a large urban university when transitioning a software engineering class from an in-person to an online live modality. The protocol at this IHE involved (1) faculty completing an online live faculty professional development workshop, (2) working with an instructional designer to develop the course content that adheres to institution guidelines, including accessibility requirements, and (3) preparing the course for Quality Matters certification. These stages emphasize intentional instructional design practices that align objectives, assessments, and activities, ensuring the course maintains accessibility, innovation, and engagement comparable to the in-person modality. We describe these activities in detail, providing an in-depth perspective of the context and the oversight provided to ensure the high quality of the online live course. We also describe how the various active learning approaches used in the in-person classes were implemented in the online live classes.

We provide details of the course structure and the assessment methods used to evaluate the students’ performance. We assessed the student performance in the software engineering course by comparing in-person and online live class modalities using different data points. These data points include (1) basic metrics such as average grade in the course and success (non-DFW) rate, (2) the artifacts created during the course, including a project consisting of three deliverables and two presentations, and three exams – two midterm exams and one final exam; (3) the student attendance in class; and (4) feedback provided using the students’ perception of teaching survey (SPOTS). We hypothesize that students in the online live class outperform the students in the in-person classes based on the flexibility in accessing the materials covered in class, which includes accessing the recording of the online live classes. Finally, we reflect on the experiences of transitioning the course from the in-person to the online live modality.

Authors

Dr. Peter J Clarke http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0892-1907 Florida International University [biography]

Peter J. Clarke received his B.Sc. degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill) in 1987, M.S. degree from SUNY Binghamton University in 1996 and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Clemson University in 2003. His research interests are in the areas of software engineering, software testing, model-driven software development, and computer science education. He is currently an associate professor in the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International University. He is a member of the ACM (SIGSOFT, SIGCSE, and SIGAPP); IEEE Computer Society; and a member of the Association for Software Testing (AST).
Dr. Cora Laydi Fernandez Florida International University [biography]

Cora Fernandez, Ph.D., is an Instructional Design Consultant and Adjunct Faculty member at Florida International University, where she specializes in curriculum design and the development of high-quality online learning experiences. She collaborates with faculty to align course outcomes, assessments, and instructional materials using evidence-based design practices. Her work includes supporting courses through Quality Matters standards and review processes to ensure rigor, accessibility, and alignment. She earned her Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning from FIU, with research focused on student belonging in higher education. Her professional interests center on curriculum design, online course quality, and effective instructional strategies in digital learning environments.
Dr. Raquel Perez Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Raquel Perez is Faculty Administrator and Director of Digital Experience and Organizational Performance at Florida International University (FIU) Online. Her work focuses on faculty engagement and the execution of complex digital learning initiatives. She was instrumental in the development of FIU’s Online LIVE framework, a model that blends synchronous and asynchronous learning to support interactive, high-quality virtual instruction. She applies human factors and conflict-informed approaches to improve decision-making, collaboration, and performance in complex learning environments.
Hagit Kornreich-Leshem STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Hagit Kornreich-Leshem is Research Associate Professor and Director of the Learning Assistant (LA) Program at Florida International University's STEM Transformation Institute. She completed a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science and postdoctoral research in Chemical Biology at the University of Bonn, Germany. With over 15 years of experience in K-12 and undergraduate education, Hagit prepares LAs to facilitate student learning and supports faculty in transforming their classrooms into collaborative learning environments. Her work is focused on designing effective STEM learning environments based on the LA Model, recently collaborating on multi-institutional LA program implementation in computing courses, the effect of LA practices on student success and persistence in STEM and AI tools for institutional change. She has published in chemistry and STEM education and have trained in Israel, Germany and the US.
Juan Pablo Sotomayor Florida International University [biography]

Juan Pablo Sotomayor received his Masterâ€™s degree from Florida International University currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science. He is currently focused on the research area of Software Testing including MicroServices architecture.
Trevor Cickovski Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Trevor Cickovski is an Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Director of the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences (KF-SCIS) at Florida International University (FIU). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2008 and is a member of ACM, IEEE and the National Learning Assistant Alliance (LA). As a Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) Fellow at FIU, Trevor participated in a University-wide effort to improve teaching evaluation and developed a website of resources for faculty. He has received funding from NVIDIA to bring GPU computing into the classroom and is lead software developer of PluMA, a plugin-based toolkit that facilitates classroom bioinformatics projects by allowing students to build their ideas in a language of choice and seamlessly integrate them into larger pipelines. He has led the development of two interdisciplinary computing degrees at FIU: one in computer science and biology, the other in computer science and psychology.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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