Conference Session

Computer Tools for Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff Frolik, University of Vermont

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

electronicillustrated in Fig. 1, the Tablets enabled the assembly manuals enabled by Tablet mobilitystudents, working in pairs, to self-pacethrough the circuit’s assembly. Detailed pictures of circuit throughout its build are clearlyrepresented in the screen images and further descriptions of components are included. Forexample, this particular circuit utilizes a 555-timer integrated circuit for which simulations areembedded in this assembly ‘manual’. Page 12.939.2Students also work in teams on interdisciplinary design projects and continue to use Tablets forsimilar tasks but in an ad hoc manner. For example, as part of their design projects some of theteam

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Birmingham, Grove City College; David Adams, Grove City College

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

students have learned in their first three years of undergraduate schoolingand provide excellent ways of building on and incorporating material from courses students takeconcurrently with the games courses (e.g., AI).Since GCC is a small comprehensive college (an engineering teaching institution), we hope todemonstrate that a gaming curriculum is accessible to a broad range of colleges and universities,both big and small. PC-based gaming classes require very little beyond what is needed to teachstandard programming classes. Console gaming requires more equipment and licensing, but is avery popular and interesting topic.References[1] Maxim, B. “Game development is more than programming,” In Proceedings of the 2006 American Society for

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Laboratory Systems

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Timothy Hinds, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, or MathCad, or … Systematic and sustained use of thecomputational environment is central, no matter what the specific selection might be.Currently, the authors of this paper are engaged in an interdisciplinary collaboration to foster andpromote course-level integration of MATLAB into most undergraduate engineering majors, witha long-term goal of curriculum-level integration. Our efforts have included faculty quick-startseminars in MATLAB basics, providing assistance to faculty who are developing homework Page 12.1587.2assignments that use MATLAB, beginning the development of a library of web-available “HowTo” screen movies showing specific

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Laboratory Systems

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yoon Kim, Virginia State University; Shahzad Akbar

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

to enhance their knowledge of both microcontrollers and analog circuits, such as A/DC(analog-to-digital conversion), D/AC and integrated-circuit temperature sensors. The system alsoprovides students real-world examples of microcontrollers application and helps studentsunderstand how a microcontroller, C language programming, and analog circuits work togetherto become an embedded system. In addition, it provides a tool for the students to programhardware specific driver codes and to test the system to meet design requirements. The designinvolves integration of an 8051-based microcontroller, a 12-bit serial A/D converter, an 8-bitD/A converter, an instrumentation operational amplifier, a keypad, and a liquid crystal display.Once the C-language

Conference Session

Educational Software

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Norman Chonacky, Yale University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

respect to integrating computation, and attempts to outline the common challenges thephysics and engineering communities face and the opportunities they have to cooperate to theirmutual benefit in curriculum development efforts.This paper starts tracing recent physics education developments using data from a nationalsurvey that was commissioned by the magazine Computing in Science and Engineering (CiSE).This publication is co-sponsored by the American Institute of Physics and the IEEE-ComputerSociety, hence its interest in working at the intersection between physics and engineering. Thepaper continues with a description of an effort by the Committee on Instructional Technology –the counterpart to CoED within the American Institute of Physics

Conference Session

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill Genereux, Kansas State University, Salina

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

ofthought ignores the realities and interconnectedness of the world. Some writers such as PeterBlewett have expressed dissatisfaction with “professional programs that treated humanities andsocial sciences as an after-thought at best and an onerous irrelevancy at worst.” 2 Others call foreach discipline to recognize and appreciate the value of disparate fields of thought. “Scientistswould doubtless be better people if they were culturally literate, and ditto for humanists if theywere scientifically informed.” 3The importance of a broad based education is reflected in current ABET curriculum Page 12.959.2requirements for engineering and engineering

Conference Session

Computer Tools for Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jianyu Dong, California State University-Los Angeles; Nancy Warter-Perez, California State University-Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

number of presentation software tools (e.g.Class Presenter, Ubiquitous presenter, DyKnow’s Software, etc.) have been developed to providean integrated Tablet PC-based instruction environment that supports dynamic presentation, real-time polling, on-line coursework submission, etc. B. Simon, et al, have presented their work onusing Class Presenter and Ubiquitous presenter in engineering classrooms4-5. V. Diaz, et al, havepresented how to use DyKnow’s Software to improve teaching efficiency in large classesthrough active learning, practice, and faculty engagement6. Tront introduced an enhancedsoftware tool WriteOn to allow dynamic broadcasting of the computer screen with real timeelectronic ink and synchronized audio7. Most literature reported

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Baibak, Kettering University; Rajeev Agrawal, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

instruction for all different aspects of life. Puzzles to learnlogic, mathematical games to enhance basic math skills, and even reading games to increasereading ability have all been used successfully to teach children the basic skills that they willneed in life. It logically follows, then, that using computer games is an effective way to teachcomputing skills, and utilizing course curriculums that teach how to program computer gameswould invariably teach the basic skills required to program anything.While learning basic programming skills, students who are assigned to program video games willlearn the ability to formulate algorithms to solve particular problems, and will do so not onlybecause are they having fun in creating these games, but they are

Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education-HDL

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff Gribschaw, D/EECS, USMA; Paul Patterson, D/EECS, USMA; Bryan Goda, USMA

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

and fail to grasp the actual concepts that the software wassupposed to reinforce. One course of action to eliminate this problem is to stream line thesoftware tools used throughout the curriculum. This would require a conscious, program-wideeffort to redesign the course curriculum using only one CAD/E product and is not a feasiblesolution to our problem. Instead, we propose a coordinated software effort within a program andan assessment program geared specifically towards the CAD/E tools used in each course to helpinstructors enhance classroom instruction and out-of-class independent student learning of newCAD/E Software. This paper will focus on the software application Active-HDL, theprogramming language VHDL, and an assessment tool we use

Conference Session

Special Session on Fixed-Point Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Anderson, Georgia Institute of Technology; Tyson Hall, Southern Adventist University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

# Curriculum Objectives Fundamental Objectives 1 Demonstrate competence in the operation of Psychomotor software simulation tools and hardware design environments. 2 Simulate quantization noise effects and theoret- Models ically predict quantization noise power spectra at the output of a fixed–point filter. 3 Synthesize basic digital logic and basic DSP Design functions (buffering, table lookup, arithmetic, etc.) in an FPGA. 4 Design filters that meet a given set of realistic Design, Creativity system parameters. 5 Implement filters of various flavors and com- Instrumentation, Data Analysis plexities that execute on an FPGA using dis- tributed arithmetic. 6

Conference Session

Educational Software

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anthony Rynne, University of Limerick; William Gaughran, University of Limerick

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

major concern the excessive emphasis on software to the detriment of basicgraphical concepts, problem solving and visualisation skills 5. This is an integral part of thecognitive part modelling framework proposed in this research. In order to be able to decodean engineering drawing the learner must develop their ability to visualise 3D spatialrelationships. This has been identified as the key skill required for engineering design 6.Current and future engineering, technology and product design graduates will need tounderstand complex modelling techniques and strategies for both solid and surface models tomeet the needs of industry to be competitive in the global marketplace. In a survey of designand manufacturing companies who had a requirement

Conference Session

Mobile Robotics in Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Parten, Texas Tech University; Michael Giesselmann, Texas Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

Page 12.1066.9 5. M. E. Parten, "A Different Approach to Engineering Laboratory Instruction," Proceedings Frontiers 7 in Education, November 1994, San Jose, Calif.6. M. E. Parten, "Progressive Design for Instrumentation Development in Project Laboratories," 1993 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, April 1-2, 1993.7. M. E. Parten, "Design and Research in Project Laboratories,” Proceedings of Engineering Education: Curriculum Innovation and Integration, Engineering Foundation Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, January 1992.8. M. E. Parten, "Design in the Electrical Engineering Laboratory," 1988 ASEE Gulf-Southwest

Conference Session

Computer Education Management Tools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lupita Montoya, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Chris Moore, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

project leader for course support of distributed education courses, consultant to faculty on issues of technology integration, instructional design and content development, and researcher and evaluator for emerging instructional technologies. Chris earned a Master of Science degree in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology in May, 2000 from the University at Albany. Chris has six years of experience in instructional design and integrating information technologies in support of teaching and learning. Page 12.1479.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 The

Conference Session

Special Session on Fixed-Point Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cameron Wright, University of Wyoming; Thad Welch, Boise State University; Michael Morrow, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Gerald Vineyard, U.S. Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

Department. Dr. Welch's research interests include the implementation of communication systems using DSP-based techniques, DSP education, and RF signal propagation. He is a member of ASEE, IEEE, Tau Beta Pi, and Eta Kappa Nu. E-mail: t.b.welch@ieee.orgMichael Morrow, University of Wisconsin-Madison Michael G. Morrow, MEngEE, P.E., is a Faculty Associate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. His research interests include real-time digital systems, embedded system design, software engineering, curriculum design, and educational assessment techniques. He is a member of ASEE and IEEE. E-mail: morrow@ieee.orgGerald Vineyard, U.S

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Squire, Virginia Military Institute; Vonda Walsh, Virginia Military Institute; H. Francis Bush, Virginia Military Institute; Gerald Sullivan, Virginia Military Institute; Anthony English, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

value causing a rapiddecline of intelligibility.Other studies have examined how delay affects fundamental learning processes, rather thanexamining it in the specific context of network information transfer. Maddox et al.6 investigatedthe effects of delaying feedback on ruled-based and information-integration learning. Rule-based skills require the learner to apply an explicit reasoning process, whereas information-integration skills require the learner to integrate existing knowledge, for example to infer theresults of decreasing a resistor’s value given Ohm’s Law and the power equation. They reportedthat feedback delay did not appear to affect the rule-based learning but significantly hinderedinformation-integration learning, such as

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ahmed Abu-Hajar, San Francisco State University; Michael Holden, San Francisco State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

critical to thesuccess of engineering curriculums—was developed as a new educational model. CBVCemploys computer animation and other virtual visual tools that cannot be employed in traditionalclassroom settings. In CBVC, interactive questions are integrated within lectures—a model thatreinforces the assimilation of fundamental topics. Surveys conducted on the efficacy of CBVCshow that 80% of students questioned benefit from using CBVC, and 20% believe CBVC mayreplace conventional classrooms.1. IntroductionAt present, many engineering courses mandate the use of computers1.. Computers areincreasingly playing a major role in the learning process, and the number of college students whoown a computer is on the rise. The OpenCourseWare (OCW) Program at

Conference Session

Educational Software

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff Joines, North Carolina State University; Stephen Roberts, North Carolina State University; Dianne Raubenheimer, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

that there are other approaches to this course. We describe our own “solution.” Page 12.391.2A Bit of HistoryThe computing course was introduced to the engineering curriculum sometime in the late 1950sand early 1960s. If you got your engineering degree before 1965, you probably took a Fortranprogramming class using something like an IBM 1620. You prepared your program on punchedcards and “loaded” the cards along with the operating system components onto the machine.Computing technology dramatically changed over time - from cards to terminals and magnetictapes and from 16 bit machines to 64 bit machines (mainframes). Even the programminglanguage

Conference Session

Computer Education Management Tools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard House, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Anneliese Watt, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Julia Williams, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

InventoryAbstractThis paper provides a report on a project investigating the impact of pen-based computing on students’peer review strategies. The context for the project is an introductory technical communication coursefor engineering students from multiple disciplines. The project investigators created three peerreviewing contexts in which to assess the impact of tablet PCs on the quantity and quality of students’peer review comments. A Comment Inventory form was then developed that allowed the investigatorsto categorize each comment based on comment location, content, and form. Initial results from thestudy are presented.Keywords: technical communication; peer review; pen-based computing; tablet PCIntroductionFor many engineering educators, the challenge of

Conference Session

Mobile Robotics in Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Wang, University of Nevada-Reno; Jeffrey LaCombe, University of Nevada-Reno; Ann-Marie Vollstedt, University of Nevada-Reno

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-1207: TEACHING STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING USING LEGOPROGRAMMABLE BRICKSEric Wang, University of Nevada-Reno ERIC L. WANG is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. Dr. Wang has won numerous awards including the Tibbitts Distinguished Teaching Award, UNR's most prestigious teaching award. In addition to his pedagogical activities, Dr. Wang conducts research on sports equipment, biomechanics, robotics, and intelligent materials.Jeffrey LaCombe, University of Nevada-Reno JEFFREY C. LACOMBE is an Assistant Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. In addition to his education-oriented research