Simoni, M., & Aburdene, M. F., & Fayyaz, F. (2013, June), Analog-Circuit-Based Activities to Improve Introductory Continuous-Time Signals and Systems  Courses  Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19202

\bibitem{asee_peer_19202}
  Simoni, M., \& Aburdene, M. F., \& Fayyaz, F. (2013, June), \emph{Analog-Circuit-Based Activities to Improve Introductory Continuous-Time Signals and Systems  Courses}
  Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia.
  10.18260/1-2--19202

Mario Simoni, Maurice F. Aburdene, and Farrah Fayyaz.  "Analog-Circuit-Based Activities to Improve Introductory Continuous-Time Signals and Systems  Courses".  2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2013.  https://peer.asee.org/19202 Internet.  23 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_19202}
  Mario Simoni, Maurice F. Aburdene, and Farrah Fayyaz.
  "Analog-Circuit-Based Activities to Improve Introductory Continuous-Time Signals and Systems  Courses".
  \emph{2013 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2013.
  https://peer.asee.org/19202 Internet.  23 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_19202
author = "Mario Simoni, Maurice F. Aburdene, and Farrah Fayyaz"
title = "Analog-Circuit-Based Activities to Improve Introductory Continuous-Time Signals and Systems  Courses"
booktitle = "2013 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2013"
month = "June"
address = "Atlanta, Georgia"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/19202}
number = {10.18260/1-2--19202}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -             Analog-Circuit-Based Activities to Improve Introductory                Continuous-Time Signals and Systems CoursesThe introductory continuous-time linear systems, signals and systems courses (CTSS) are someof the most difficult courses that students encounter in an electrical and computer engineering(ECE) curriculum, as evidenced by well-above-average drop/failure rates. The highlymathematical, abstract, and theoretical concepts are difficult for the students to visualize. Thisdifficulty is reinforced by the lack of hands-on experiences in this area. At Bucknell and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, we have tried to improve motivation and learning by creatingapplication-oriented, active-learning opportunities for students.The activities start off with simple examples, such as single sinusoids and then progress to real-world applications, such as filtering ECG and DTMF signals. In order to facilitate theseexercises, Rose-Hulman developed the signals and systems exploration platform (SSEP), ananalog circuit platform that greatly facilitates hands-on exploration of these concepts, withrealistic applications, using truly continuous-time analog circuits. The SSEP is a printed circuitboard (PCB) that can easily be configured to sum, multiply, filter, and sample continuous -timesignals. With an onboard microphone, ECG/instrumentation amplifier, and generic signal input,a wide variety of signals can be studied and manipulated. Also, we have developed a number ofexercises based on the SSEP that can be used in a formal laboratory setting or for in-classdemonstrations. While the SSEP platform facilitates the exercises, they can also be performed intraditional labs with commonly available equipment. While the SSEP has been described inprevious publications, the laboratory exercises have not. This paper describes several of theseexercises in detail.These exercises have been used in an introductory CTSS course since September of 2010, taughtin a 10 week quarter, with 3 one-hour lectures and 1 three-hour laboratory session per week.While the exercises were designed to be done in the three-hour session, we show how they canbe broken up into smaller steps that could be completed easily in a one-hour class either by thestudents or as a demonstration by the professor.At Rose Hulman, prior to implementing these exercises, the laboratory portion of the course wasbased primarily upon MATLAB programming. In order to get some measure of the impact ofthese exercises, we surveyed the students for one year before the exercises were introduced. Wenow have two years of survey results, some of which are presented to indicate changes inmotivation and perspective about the material.
AU  - Mario Simoni
AU  - Maurice F. Aburdene
AU  - Farrah Fayyaz
CY  - Atlanta, Georgia
DA  - 2013/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Analog-Circuit-Based Activities to Improve Introductory Continuous-Time Signals and Systems  Courses
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/19202
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--19202
ER  -