Conference Session

Instrumentation and Laboratory Systems

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hassan Rajaei, Bowling Green State University; Mohammad Dadfar, Bowling Green State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

. His research interests include Computer Extension and Analysis of Perturbation Series, Scheduling Algorithms, and Computers in Education. He currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in data communications, operating systems, and computer algorithms. He is a member of ACM and ASEE.Mohammad Dadfar, Bowling Green State University Page 12.803.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 High Performance Computing Student Projects Hassan Rajaei and Mohammad B. Dadfar Department of Computer Science

Conference Session

Computer Education Management Tools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Promiti Dutta, Columbia University; Alexander Haubold, Columbia University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-1692: MANAGEMENT AND ARCHIVAL FOR PROJECT-BASEDCOURSESPromiti Dutta, Columbia UniversityAlexander Haubold, Columbia University Page 12.1029.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Management and Archival for Project-Based CoursesAbstract:The use of the World Wide Web has become very common as a teaching tool in courses. Itserves as a paperless studio for both instructors and students. The use of this tool helps reducethe cost of a course tremendously for both parties as it reduces paper consumption and the cost oftextbooks. In this paper, we examine the effective usages of database driven web portals for usein a first-year engineering design course

Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education-HDL

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald Hayne, The Citadel

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-372: VHDL PROJECTS TO REINFORCE COMPUTER ARCHITECTURECLASSROOM INSTRUCTIONRonald Hayne, The Citadel Ronald J. Hayne, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Citadel. His professional areas of interest are digital systems and hardware description languages. He is a retired Army officer with experience in academics and Defense laboratories. Page 12.1588.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 VHDL Projects to Reinforce Computer Architecture Classroom InstructionAbstractExploration of various

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

AC 2007-2528: MICROPROCESSOR BASED, GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEMGUIDED ROBOT IN A PROJECT LABORATORYMichael Parten, Texas Tech UniversityMichael Giesselmann, Texas Tech University Page 12.1066.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007I. Introduction Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) students have a need to be able todesign and build systems with embedded microprocessors. They also need to be able tobecome familiar with different processors. There are many different ways to teachmicroprocessors and their applications. The objective, in this case, is to have the studentsdesign and develop a system using a microprocessor they have not seen before. In thisway

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

AC 2007-1587: PROJECT-BASED LEARNING USING TABLET PCS: APRACTICE TO ENHANCE DESIGN COMPONENTS IN ENGINEERINGINSTRUCTIONJianyu Dong, California State University-Los AngelesNancy Warter-Perez, California State University-Los Angeles Page 12.1195.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Project Based Learning Using Tablet PCs: A Practice to Enhance Design Components in Engineering InstructionAbstractThis paper presents a Collaborative Project Based Learning model using Tablet PCs to enhancethe design components in engineering classroom instruction. The core of our proposed model isto incorporate small in-class Tablet PC-based collaborative design

Conference Session

Computer Education Management Tools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phil Rawles, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-1839: MEASURING STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN GROUP PROJECTSTHROUGH AN ONLINE PEER EVALUATION SYSTEMPhil Rawles, Purdue University Phil Rawles is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Information Technology at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Professor Rawles specializes in teaching network administration and information security in the network engineering technology program. Page 12.1044.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Measuring Student Participation in Group Projects Through An On-Line Peer Evaluation SystemBackgroundGroup work is an

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Hill, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

Society for Engineering Education, 2007 A Simple Multitasking Library for Student Projects and Introducing Embedded Operating Systems PrinciplesAbstractThe cxlib multitasking library is written for teaching embedded microprocessor principles toelectrical and computer engineering students, serving as a stepping stone toward real timeoperating systems. The students also use cxlib in their projects. The library supportscooperative multitasking and a recent change allows for preemptive round-robin scheduling.The cxlib library was first written during the spring 2002 semester as the author surveyed theliterature for material to use in a new course.The intent of the cxlib library is to provide simple multitasking that

Conference Session

Mobile Robotics in Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Ahlgren, Trinity College; Igor M Verner, Technion--Israel Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, interviews, and project assessment. In the paperwe report the results of this experiment and, based on those results, propose recommendationsfor fostering self-efficacy in robotics education.IntroductionRecent research has emphasized the role of affect in constructivist learning and revised thetraditional tendency to explore cognitive processes of science and engineering education inisolation from affective functions. Picard et al. [1] call for "redressing the imbalance betweenaffect and cognition" and "constructing a science of affective learning". This study focuses ondeveloping learning technologies, systems, and environments that incorporate affect.DeBellis and Goldin [2] in their study of affect in problem-based mathematical learning

Conference Session

Educational Software

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harry Franz, University of Houston-Downtown; Alberto Gomez-Rivas, University of Houston-Downtown

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

simulationsoftware student and educational versions, and Visual Basic and the National InstrumentsLabVIEW student and educational versions. The industrial software includes the IntergraphSmart Plant Electrical industrial version. Advantages and disadvantages of the use of the types ofsoftware are considered. How each type of software is used to improve the curriculum andteaching practices is discussed. Innovative learning strategies and student project work are given.Many of the students in the four-year university programs have a wide range of technicalexperience and academics. These students often also work in quite different professions whileattending courses at the university even though most program graduates will later work in theengineering field

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Laboratory Systems

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Bell, University of Illinois-Chicago

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-2085: DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE IN ANUNDERGRADUATE LAB ? SERVING EDUCATION ON TWO FRONTS ATVRUPLJohn Bell, University of Illinois-Chicago Page 12.494.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Developing Educational Software in an Undergraduate Lab – Serving Education on Two Fronts at VRUPLABSTRACTEducational software can have a profound and widespread positive impact on the world,particularly if it is made freely available and widely distributed. At the same time, providing alaboratory where undergraduate students can work on large complex software projects beyondthe scope of ordinary homework assignments can provide immeasurable

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Holden, San Francisco State University; Juan Carlos Miranda, San Francisco State University; Jose Coto, San Francisco State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

engineers need to be able to implement simple control designs using real-time programming techniques or their design skills will be of no use.To address these issues at San Francisco State University, a hands-on project was added to agraduate-level control system design class. The project requires that the students learn controlimplementation skills as well as giving them practical experience with modern microcontrollerhardware. Students in the class have good design skills before the project, able to designcontrollers and simulate them in Matlab1, but they are inexperienced in implementation. Forexample, the students are often confused when asked to distinguish between the simulation of theplant and the control law (particularly when observers are

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

beingincorporated into academic programs creating new classes and opportunities for students to workon very sophisticated and technically relevant applications during their undergraduate education.Programs, like that of North Texas, incorporate game design with a focus on getting studentsinto the gaming industry and have had reasonable success3.In contrast, many programs are aimed at simply increasing student motivation to explore currenthot technologies and programming techniques on a large project and to work in multi-disciplinary teams. For example, the College of New Jersey offers a design course where Page 12.767.2students from a variety of disciplines

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shekhar Sharad, National Instruments

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

idea to a practical implementation possibility. In the followingsections we will highlight two such examples, the first example is the use of an embedded deviceto promote excitement in science and engineering in the high-schools and introductory classes atthe University level and the second example is from a senior design project from RPI where ateam went from design and simulation to deployment in one semester4.1 Use Case: Embedded Devices in the High-school and Freshman levelsThe Infinity Project[10] is an award-winning high school and early college program developed atSouthern Methodist University(SMU) in Dallas, TX and is aimed at creating excitement inscience and engineering in high school. The aim of the program is to bring math and

Conference Session

Mobile Robotics in Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Austin Griffith, University of Wyoming; Steven Barrett, University of Wyoming; Daniel Pack, U.S. Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-447: VERILOG HDL CONTROLLED ROBOT FOR TEACHINGCOMPLEX SYSTEMS DESIGNAustin Griffith, University of Wyoming Austin Griffith completed the Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 2004 and the Masters of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 2006 at the University of Wyoming. He is a member of IEEE and Tau Beta Pi -- the Engineering Honor Society. He is project engineer with Plasma Cam of Colorado City, Colorado.Steven Barrett, University of Wyoming Steven F. Barrett received the BS Electronic Engineering Technology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1979, the M.E.E.E. from the University of Idaho at Moscow in 1986, and the Ph.D. from The University

Conference Session

Computer Tools for Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frank Kowalski, Colorado School of Mines; Julia Williams, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Rob Reed, Hewlett-Packard Corporation; Jim Vanides, Hewlett-Packard

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

” higher education grant initiative and community of over 200 campuses in 34 countries. He also writes a blog about best practices emerging from grant-supported projects around the world (www.hp.com/go/hied-blog). In his “spare” time, Jim teaches an online course for Montana State University on the Science of Sound (www.scienceteacher.org). Page 12.1503.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Transforming Teaching and Learning using Tablet PCs A Panel Discussion using Tablet PCsAbstractThis panel discussion will highlight emerging best practices in the use of Tablet PCs to

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

transforms, FPGAs, and VHDL. These assumptions are valid giventhe enforced prerequisites (a senior–level fundamentals of DSP course) and the required corecurriculum for electrical and computer engineering majors at Georgia Tech, which includeslaboratories and classroom lecture on FPGAs and VHDL in the digital design and computerarchitecture sequences [15, 16]. Since the nature of this course is a convergence of DSP and computer engineering(CMPE), lecture material is pulled from both of these disciplines. The course scheduletypically consists of one week of lectures on DSP theory, optimization techniques, etc. fol-lowed by one week of implementation–related lectures. The laboratory projects then providestudents with an opportunity to combine these

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

Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Teaching Structured Programming Using LEGO Programmable BricksAbstractFor the first time in nearly a decade, the LEGO programmable brick has undergone a majorhardware revision. The LEGO programmable brick has been adopted for a variety of uses inprimary, secondary, and higher education. With the introduction of the new hardware, thereappears to be a growing interest in using the programmable brick for teaching computerprogramming to college students. The goal of this project was to develop a set of instructionalworkshops, online tutorials, and accompanying project-based learning exercises that, combined,teach the basics of structured computer

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

completeprogramming assignments to learn the skills of problem-solving, translating ideas into computercode, debugging programs, and testing programs. Much of the learning takes place whilestudents complete programming assignments. In order to keep students’ interest and provide ameans of ownership, creative and open-ended programming assignments were used in anintroductory Java course.Most introductory programming courses include a series of programming assignments to ensurestudents learn programming fundamentals. A typical introductory programming assignmentrequires all students to complete the same program. Instead of stating project specifications sothat all students’ projects tackle exactly the same task, assignments for an introductory coursewere

Conference Session

Computer Tools for Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff Frolik, University of Vermont

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-114: INTEGRATION OF TABLET PCS INTO COLLABORATIVELEARNING ENVIRONMENTSJeff Frolik, University of Vermont Page 12.939.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Integration of Tablet PCs into Collaborative Learning EnvironmentsIntroductionThis paper presents the results of a project, ongoing since Fall of 2004 at the University ofVermont (UVM), in which university-owned, Tablet PCs have been integrated into learningenvironments where engineering students collaborate most frequently: namely, in laboratoriesand design courses. The primary objective of this work was to ascertain how mobile, pen-basedcomputing can

Conference Session

Special Session on Fixed-Point Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne Padgett, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

: Advanced Signal Processing Topics and Conceptual LearningAbstractIn this paper a description of a unique fixed point systems course, including a list of topics, adescription of labs, and a discussion of the focus on a course project. The course has run fourtimes using simulation environments to promote analysis and visualization. The content of thecourse has made it apparent that there are numerous linkages to advanced signal processingtopics, and these are described. The course has also led to the initiation of an educationalexperiment using the Signals and Systems Concept Inventory (SSCI) to measure how two verydifferent electives affect student understanding of basic concepts. The experiment compares thefixed point

Conference Session

Computer Tools for Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vinod Lohani, Virginia Tech; Ricky Castles, Virginia Tech; Jenny Lo, Virginia Tech; Odis Griffin, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

. Page 12.1341.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Tablet PC Applications in a Large Engineering ProgramAbstractA Tablet PC computing initiative was announced by Virginia Tech in summer 2006. Use ofTablet PC-based instruction was implemented in a freshman engineering course with about 1200students in fall 2006. Examples of instructional activities included electronic note taking, use ofinking features to review homework solutions and completing skeleton PowerPoint slidesdesigned to increase the engagement level of students in a large classroom, and setting up onlinecollaboration sessions to do group design project and problem solving activities. In addition, theTablets helped students maintain an electronic log of

Conference Session

Special Session on Fixed-Point Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Hill, University of Hartford; Hisham Alnajjar, University of Hartford; Saeid Moslehpour, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

developing the discrete time signal processing toolkit for a digital signal processing(DSP) course, to be useful to students learning DSP principles as well as to advanced studentsworking on their own projects. As an introductory tool, the toolkit will allow a deductiveapproach where students investigate existing systems. Advanced students ready for a moreinductive approach can use the toolkit in their own projects by drawing schematics or modifyingexample VHDL modules. Students are not expected to write code using a hardware descriptionlanguage, but the underlying code is always available for inspection.The toolkit is multipurpose that along with course materials provides several methods to processsignals. First off, the toolkit demonstrates signal

Conference Session

Educational Software

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hyun Kim, Youngstown State University; Hazel Marie, Youngstown State University; Suresh Patil, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

AC 2007-821: TWO-DIMENSIONAL CFD ANALYSIS OF A HYDRAULIC GEARPUMPHyun Kim, Youngstown State University Hyun W. Kim, Ph.D, P.E. Hyun W. Kim is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Fluid Power Research and Education Center at Youngstown State University. He has been teaching and developing courses and research projects in the fluid thermal area. He is a registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in Ohio and is currently conducting applied research in fluid power control and computational fluid dynamics with local industries. Dr. Kim received a B.S.E. degree from Seoul National University, a M.S.E. from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. from the Univ. of Toledo.Hazel

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

exemplar of systematic curricularreform, and as such the lessons we have learned may be of broad general interest.In the current report we will describe in detail the background that led us to the belief thatcurricular change is necessary towards systematic use of MATLAB in our programs. We go onto give background on the broad area of curricular reform as relates to our needs-driven situation.We then describe the specific initial projects we have undertaken on our path to reach the broadgoal of MATLAB infusion across our undergraduate engineering programs. We end with asummary and a statement of our future plans.Nature of the Problem We Address: Computational Tool Use in Engineering CurriculaUndergraduate education in engineering has been

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christian Hipp, University of South Carolina; Veronica Addison, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

determine the best ways to introduce computing into early undergraduatemechanical engineering curriculum, focusing particularly on numerical methods and analysis.Given the importance of computing in professional engineering practice, this project seeks toimprove students’ facility with computers while moving away from ‘cookbook’ approacheswhich emphasize software-specific skills at the expense of more fundamental mathematical andconceptual knowledge.One aspect of this research project was to determine what computer experiences (STEM --Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics -- or otherwise) students have when they entercollege-level engineering classes. We surveyed sophomore engineering students in“Introduction to Applied Numerical Methods

Conference Session

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill Genereux, Kansas State University, Salina

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

challenge has been to discover ways of connecting art and design concepts to the needs andinterests of computer technology students. For example, most computer students understand thetheory of mixing red, green and blue pixels on a computer display to create any color, but feware familiar with the technique of optical color mixing used in Pointillism.Throughout the course, students are introduced to design concepts and theory that can be used todevelop visually pleasing websites and other graphic oriented content. Along the way, well-known artists are introduced to illustrate various design fundamentals that are applicable in bothart and web design. On several occasions, projects that reinforce key concepts are assigned; somecomputer based and some

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

Computed Simulation and Animation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andreas Spanias, Arizona State University; Karthikeyan Ramamurthy, Arizona State University; Jayaraman Jayaraman, Arizona State University; Mahesh Banavar, Arizona State University; CHIH-WEI HUANG, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

Signal Processing Chapter in Phoenix, and is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, and Sigma Xi. Andreas Spanias is co-recipient of the 2002 IEEE Donald G. Fink paper prize award and he is a Fellow of the IEEE. He served as Distinguished lecturer of the IEEE SPS in 2004 and he received the 2004 IEEE signal processing society award for meritorious scientific service.Karthikeyan Ramamurthy, Arizona State University Karthikeyan Ramamurthy is a Masters student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and a student member of the Sensor Signal and Information Processing (SenSIP) center. He worked on the J-DSP project as a programmer of the J-DSP/LabVIEW interface.Jayaraman Jayaraman , Arizona State

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J.W. Bruce, Mississippi State University; Lee Hathcock, Mississippi State Univ.

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

embeddedsystems class for seniors and introductory graduate students. Example dissections will bepresented and discussed. The paper will detail how the dissections furthered the class toward itseducational objectives. Finally, qualitative comments from students will be provided, along withobservations from the instructor. IntroductionMississippi State University has recently revised its undergraduate computer engineering (CPE)program with input from alumni and advisory employers. The CPE program has focused onembedded computer systems. Embedded systems form a rich application source through whichCPE education can be made relevant. Embedded computer systems are a timely subject that isimmediately useful to students in their senior design projects

Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education-HDL

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Hill, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

theassembly language view of the processor. At roughly midterm, students start with the nod4implementation document4. In other courses having a focus only on the architecture, theprocessor can be presented without the implementation. Courses with a lack of developmenttools can use the implementation document for reference. With the development tools on hand, aproject can be assigned to actually implement the project. Otherwise, students could possiblyuse an existing implementation to investigate the nod4 processor, considering changes to thenod4 architecture and implementation. There are many opportunities such as adding peripherals,new instructions, and addressing modes. Each document includes homework exercises.The nod Series HistoryFor my first