Advances in Engineering Education - Transitioning Oral Presentations Online in Large-Enrollment Capstone Design Courses Increases Panelist Participation - Fall 2020 Volume 8 Number 4

Oct 15, 2026

The UF Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering MAE program runs a large-enrollment two-semester capstone design sequence that culminates in expert-panel oral presentations. During COVID-19, final presentations shifted from in-person formats to fully online delivery using Canvas, WordPress, Zoom, and YouTube. The transition increased average panelist participation by 50%, while design team scores dropped from 92.4% (in-person, Fall 2017–2019) to 76.9% (online, Spring 2020). Analysis rules out panel size, evaluator fatigue, over-scripted delivery, and online-transition difficulty; pandemic stress is identified as the likely cause. Sponsor feedback supports continuing online capstone oral presentations when in-person resumes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Preliminary Results

Table 1. Average capstone oral presentation participation by panelist type

| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | FALL 2020 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 Transitioning Oral Presentations Online in Large-Enrollment Capstone Design Courses Increases Panelist Participation LAUREN E. ROGERS KIMBERLY J. STUBBS NOEL A. THOMAS SEAN R. NIEMI ANDRÉS RUBIANO AND MATTHEW J. TRAUM University of Florida Gainesville, FL ABSTRACT The UF MAE program delivers a large-enrollment capstone design sequence that traditionally hosts in-person oral presentations with industry panels. COVID-19 necessitated presentations be conducted online. This transition increased average panelist participation by 50% . Average design team scores fell from 92. 4%(σ = 5. 6%) for in-person presentations in Fall 2017, 2018, and 2019 to 76. 9%(σ = 7. 8%) for online presentations in Spring 2020. This aberration was not caused by 1) larger / more diverse panels, 2) evaluator fatigue, 3) over-scripted presentations, or 4) difficulty transitioning online. Pandemic-induced stress was the likely cause. Industry sponsor feedback and increased participation compel continuation of capstone oral online presentations when in-person instruction resumes. Key words: Capstone, Large Enrollment, Online Presentation INTRODUCTION The University of Florida (UF) Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Department deliversa two-semester undergraduate capstone design sequence tailored for large enrollment (Traum, Niemi, Griffis, et al 2020; Niemi, Griffis, et al 2020; Traum, Niemi, Collins, et al 2020; Traum, Niemi, et al 2020) . Culminating first semester deliverables include a formal oral presentation where groups FALL 2020 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 1 ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Transitioning Oral Presentations Online in Large-Enrollment Capstone Design Courses Increases Panelist Participation provide an overview of their designs to an expert panel. Panelists provide technical and professional feedback akin to an engineering design review in industry. Historically, oral capstone presentations were conducted in-person. However, with the onset of COVID-19, UF transitioned to all-online instruction effective March 16th, 2020. To preserve this critical feedback and assessment mechanism, oral final presentations were transitioned fully online using Canvas for scheduling, a WordPress website for coordination and archiving, Zoom for synchronous video conferencing, and YouTube for asynchronous content delivery. To our knowledge, no published literature reports online presentation of final capstone design projects. Wyard-Scott (2010) and Panchal & Starkey (2014) utilized online communication and management tools for capstone courses, but the online medium was not used for final oral presentations. ABET-EAC accredited undergraduate engineering programs offered online (Arizona State University, Stony Brook University, and University of North Dakota) likely conducted Web-based capstone oral presentations prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but these activities are not reported. Howe and Goldberg (2015) provide a comprehensive review of current capstone instruction practices, and they do not mention online presentation delivery. Given the paucity of capstone online oral presentation assessment data, this paper compares presentation panel participation and resulting student scores between the online delivery format of Spring 2020 and in-person presentations conducted in Fall 2019, Fall 2018, and Fall 2017. An unexpected aberration arose from the all-online oral presentations: scores were a full standard deviation lower for the online cohort than previous in-person classes . Comparative data analysis eliminates panel size/diversity, evaluator fatigue, and student scripting as aberration explanations. METHODS Spring 2020 oral design review presentations were conducted virtually through Zoom. Oral presentations were evaluated by panelists based on fulfillment of ABET (1–7)

FAQs

What change did the UF MAE program make to capstone oral presentations during COVID-19?

UF transitioned final oral presentations from in-person delivery to a fully online format, using Canvas for scheduling, WordPress for coordination and archiving, Zoom for synchronous sessions, and YouTube for asynchronous content.

How did online delivery affect panelist participation and student scores?

Online delivery increased average panelist participation by 50%. Design team scores decreased from 92.4% (in-person in Fall 2017–2019) to 76.9% (online in Spring 2020).

What explanations were evaluated for the score drop, and what was concluded?

The paper compared and ruled out larger/more diverse panels, evaluator fatigue, over-scripted presentations, and difficulty transitioning online as causes. Pandemic-induced stress was identified as the likely reason.

Oct 15, 2026

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