Like many students, Becker had scheduling conflicts with his classes. However, ENMU offers a good education for students online.
He explains that taking online engineering classes is a better option for him. "I'm taking online classes because I have other [required] classes that have time conflicts," Becker said.
Many online programs are available 24/7, and utilize Blackboard and Panopto to teach students. The EET program at ENMU uses Panopto technology in all of its online courses.
"My favorite aspect of my online classes is being able to refer back to the lectures often," said Becker. Panopto allows students to watch all lectures live or listen to them at any time.
He says Panopto helps him to organize his notes properly instead of rushing to keep up the teacher.
Becker's Professor Hamid Allamehzadeh asks all online EET students to send him their questions prior to lectures so that he can answer their questions during the next lecture.
Face-to-face and online students have access to the same information for all EET courses.
Becker indicates that students should make sure their classes have Panopto. "I know it [Panopto] is a big factor as to why the EET program here is so well."
A lot of schools offer their online EET programs through the Blackboard system—read the materials and take quiz or test online.
"Online, you're virtually sitting in the classroom so you see everything the [face-to-face] students get," Becker said. He says that the ENMU professors take the extra effort on days off to explain the homework to the online students.
"Dr. Allamehzadeh would have to my favorite teacher. He puts in a lot of time and effort into you. He will make sure you understand something instead just lecturing and hoping you get it," says Becker.
ENMU is well known for providing students with hands-on experience that employers are looking for. "The curriculum we're taught is very versatile, and sets us up for success in many fields of work," Becker said.
He says that he likes how small the classes are because students receive more hands-on teachers and in-depth labs and classes. Even online students in the EET program are able to complete laboratory assignments.
Most of the online EET students have jobs in electronic or related areas so they have access to all equipment and electronic parts for completing their labs. If not, students can conduct their labs in the EET Laboratory on campus if they live in the Portales-Clovis area, or at a local college or university laboratory. Students can fax or email professors their results.
In his EET classes, Becker gets hands-on experience in his labs by building circuits and generating AM frequencies. "In one of my labs, we built an amplifier [speaker] which you can connect your phone or microphone to so you can hear the sound."
Dr. Allamehzadeh made an agreement with an electronic company to package all necessary equipment and parts for his lab and online students to purchase at the ENMU bookstore.
"These assignment should provide students with hands-on experience and benefit them for future work," Allamehzadeh said.
Becker says that students wanting to pursue a degree in EET shouldn't be afraid even if they don't have any background knowledge in electronics.
ENMU provides every student with the necessary support and access to supplies in order for their success.
"The program basically teaches you from the ground up—very easy to get a grasp of it, and you can make it a good priority in your life," Becker said.