While there has been extraordinary growth in development and delivery of accredited online degree programs and courses in many disciplines, the engineering field continues to lag behind and accredited online engineering degree programs continue to be virtually unavailable. In engineering education, the more prevalent trend is that of instructors and educators using Web technology for supplementing and enhancing traditional classroom teaching. The reason for the slow rate of growth in using this

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... new technology for teaching entirely online courses in engineering is not apparent. In Wyoming, there is even a greater need for online delivery of basic engineering courses so that transfer students, most of who live in distant and remote areas, and other prospective students can prepare themselves prior to arriving on campus. In Spring 2000, with the sponsorship of the Engineering College and the School of Extended Studies, the lead author proposed and initiated a project to design, develop, and deliver a complete online course in Engineering Thermodynamics that would satisfy the University of Wyoming's requirement for the accredited degree in engineering. The authors, then, did research on developing a suitable pedagogical approach for effective teaching and learning using Web and online delivery technologies, particularly focused on the special nature, nuances, challenges, and needs related to the subject of thermodynamics. It is the first course ever to be offered fully online by the Engineering College at the University of Wyoming (to our knowledge, this also may be the first university accredited fully-online thermodynamics course offered on the Web that satisfies undergraduate engineering degree requirements). Online teaching and learning offers many benefits and opportunities to learners and educators; however, it also offers new challenges and unique considerations for developers, educators, and learners. This paper presents and addresses many of the pedagogical, technical, attitudinal, and environmental challenges encountered by the educators in the process of developing, designing, and implementing an engineering course for online delivery at the University of Wyoming.