OMSE ONLINE: Software Engineering Courses Over the Web
Are you looking for advanced software engineering courses and programs but don't have the time for traditional face-to-face courses? OMSE offers graduate level and professional development courses that are delivered via the web. Students access course materials and interact with instructors and fellow students in the class via our online learning system at PSU called "PSU Online". Much of the learning is achieved "asynchronously" through online discussion threads - which means that participants don't need to be online at the same time. We also provide weekly mini-lectures which are streaming videos that highlight key lecture points.
Try this Demo of OMSE ONLINE: Account="gsomse" and password="guest" - click here to login
Main characteristics of OMSE ONLINE
Students may elect to take any combination of face-to-face and online OMSE courses towards earning the Certificate in Software Engineering or the Master of Software Engineering degree
Students may also take online OMSE courses for professional development
Online courses are delivered using the WebCT courseware technology and are hosted by "PSU Online"
Online courses are structured with weekly lesson plans that include readings, lecture materials, discussions, and assignments
Guidelines describing how students are expected to access online materials and collaborate with the instructor and other students are provided
Faculty actively facilitative threaded asynchronous discussions and provide feedback.
Benefits of OMSE ONLINE
OMSE ONLINE courses allow you to flexibly integrate classes with your professional and personal obligations
You learn from the experiences of your fellow software engineers from around the globe
You use collaborative tools that reflect the way software engineers actually work.
What you Can Expect as an Online Student
You will not need to get together physically as a class at the same time and/or the same place
You will receive regular feedback about your progress in the course
OMSE faculty and staff will be available online for course and student support issues.
How OMSE ONLINE compares to OMSE face-to-face Classes
The distance learning curriculum and the instructors are the same for both programs
Learning goals, learning challenges, and learning quality are equivalent
The time you spend "in class" and on homework assignments is approximately the same, 12-15 hours per week
Although many students are of the opinion that face-to-face lectures are better, collaborative online learning, especially using online discussion threads, achieve deeper levels of understanding and learning that lecture style classes.
Current Status of the OMSE Online Program
At this time we are able to offer all of our courses except for OMSE 551, 555 and 556 in online formats
We expect to be offering all of our courses in online format by the 2008-2009 academic year
We are beginning to offer many of our courses in "hybrid mode" where both face-to-face and online students collaborate in a single virtual classroom.
