The goals of Mechanics of Solids (CEE205) are to develop structural design skills and an understanding of solid mechanics. We propose to incorporate the online student‐centered learning platform, NovoEd, into the course to provide students with a more active, engaging and collaborative way of meeting those goals and improving their retention of course concepts. We build on our successful recent course revisions by (1) creating a virtual design space where ideas can be shared, developed and critiqued and (2) developing online lectures which include solving example problems.