Conference Session

Computational Tools and Simulation II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Trent McDonald, West Inc.; David Mukai, University of Wyoming

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

spreadsheet use. To aidapplication, the authors have implemented bootstrap and permutation routines inExcel, Mathcad, MATLAB, and R.Example 1: Confidence Interval for the Mean and StandardDeviationThis example comes from a Junior-level Civil and Architectural Engineeringexperimental laboratory course. The students collected 10 hardness readings3 andwere asked to compute the mean, mode, median, standard deviation, 95%confidence interval for the mean, and a 95% confidence interval for the standarddeviation of the data. A typical set of readings is shown in Table 1.Table 1. Rockwell hardness readings (HRB).91 93 93 93 93 93 94 94 93 94The students constructed the 95% confidence interval of the mean and

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Miguel Latorre, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Manuel Blazquez, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Elio Sancristobal, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Sergio Martin, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Francisco Garcia-Sevilla, Castilla-La Mancha University; Catalina Martinez-Mediano, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Gabriel Diaz, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Manuel Castro, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

such as originalbook references or hand-written listings. Figure 1. Learning Metadata: characteristics of a resourceDescriptions can become very large if a certain range of attributes is not selected. For thispurpose, LOM contains nine main categories. We will give more importance to its educationalfeatures, but remaining aspects must be fulfilled too. DIEEC (Electrical, Electronic and ControlEngineering Department) has compiled a large number of exercises from various subjects:analog systems, circuit theory, etc. They are a really helpful complement to laboratory sessions,as students can understand physical models of components without any risk. These digitalmaterials were disseminated through text books or instructional CD

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rosario Gil, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Elio Sancristobal, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Sergio Martin, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Antonio Colmenar, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Gabriel Diaz, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Martin Llamas, Universidad de Vigo; Edmundo Tovar, Polytechnic University, Montegancedo; Alfonso Duran, Carlos III University of Madrid; juan peire, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia; Manuel Castro, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

andubiquitous learning that are challenging our Learning Space with a new set of services that areimproving learning capabilities. This evolution emphasizes personalization and user closeness,and is based on learning by services. The new learning concept (s-learning) continues with thephilosophy of re-usable educative objects to create encapsulated and re-usable educationalservices to be easily integrated in Learning Management Systems. In broad terms, this new e-learning philosophy is described through several examples of advanced services that can beintegrated into a Learning Management System.IntroductionSince the declaration of Bologna (1999)1 Higher Education has been profoundly modified. Theintroduction of new technologies has also changed the

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Holden, California Maritime Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, and the Measurement Systems Laboratory.These three courses were chosen because the existing material supports the microcontrollertopics to be added. They are also taught by the author, which simplifies changing the curriculuminitially. Table 1 shows the course titles, microcontroller topics added, and the semester studentstraditionally take the course.Table 1: Courses and Topics Semester Course Topics Fall Sophomore Computer Programming (MATLAB) Introduction to C Spring Sophomore Circuits Lab Peripherals and hardware Fall Junior Measurement Systems Lab DAQ ApplicationThe computer programming class focuses on

Conference Session

Tablet and Portable PCs for Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Bowman, Clemson University; Lisa Benson, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

) were made. Betweenobservations, instructors guided the students and answered their questions as they workedthrough the problems. The problems that students were assigned in this study pertained toenergy efficiency. Assignments were graded using a rubric based on formatting (proper header,neatness, etc), appropriate problem-solving strategies, proper use of equations, variables andunits, and correctness. Grades on these assignments were compared for the students working onpaper and on Tablet PCs.A 40-item motivation and attitude survey7 was administered to the students after theexperimental class sessions. This survey measures four aspects of motivation: 1. Value of being an engineering student 2. Value of becoming an engineer 3

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark Bannatyne, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Dan Baldwin, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Kevin Marshall, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

gives the final call to “REJOICE!” and enjoythe multiple benefits of participating in the program. Page 14.62.5 Figure 1.2 –Poster Design 1/3 released March 2008 Figure 1.3 –Poster Design 2/3 released May 2008 Page 14.62.6 Figure 1.4 – Poster Design 3/3 released August 2008In addition to the printed pieces for static display on walls, a cyber strategy was implemented toaid in the promotion and presentation of information regarding the program. A departmentalspecific domain name was created from which to host a

Conference Session

Computational Tools and Simulation II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radian Belu, Drexel University; Alexandru Belu, Case Western Reserve University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

which are too complexto calculate or too expensive to be reproduced in a laboratory, or are simply notaccessible to the senses. The successful use of computer algebra systems does not implythat mathematical skills are no longer at a premium: such skills are important as ever.However, computer algebra systems may remove the need for those poorly understoodmathematical techniques which are practiced and taught simply because they serve asuseful tools. The usefulness of this approach will be evaluated by direct observation andformative assessment, and feedback from other educators will be highly appreciated.1. IntroductionEngineering electromagnetics is considered one of the most difficult courses and mostabstract and conceptually difficult areas

Conference Session

Signal Processing Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thad Welch, Boise State University; Cameron Wright, University of Wyoming; Michael Morrow, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Travis Kent, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

combination with a digital down converter (DDC) based data recorder to capture and record real world radio signals. The resulting in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) data files are then imported into M ATLAB for processing. This batch processing of real world radio signals allows for a tremendous amount of classroom flexibility in the discussion of software defined radio topics.1 IntroductionThere is a great deal of interest in the DSP algorithms necessary to demodulate communicationssignals. While a number of existing courses cover these topics, the use of real world communi-cations signals to develop and test these algorithms can be problematic. For many universities,the largest challenge in working with real world signals is the

Conference Session

Signal Processing Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thad Welch, Boise State University; Cameron Wright, University of Wyoming; Michael Morrow, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

challenging economic times, it is somewhat reassuring to know that some unstable financial accounts are actually a good thing!1 INTRODUCTIONIt is widely known that even in the classroom “first impressions” are long lasting. Given thisfact, we believe that the first impressions that our students develop related to either discrete-timesignals and systems (DTSS) or digital signal processing (DSP) should be both memorable andinspirational. Pedagogically, it also makes considerable sense during a topic’s introduction togive a complete overview of that material before continuing on into the details. This approach toteaching has wide ranging consequences. Specifically it can, • Create a framework upon which the course is based • Encourage

Conference Session

Tablet and Portable PCs for Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sabina Jeschke, University of Stuttgart; Lars Knipping, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Nicole Natho, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Erhard Zorn, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Olivier Pfeiffer, Technische Universitaet Berlin

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

communication, coordination and cooperation as nowadays’important factors in education, collaborative software applications possess a high potential tosupport the learning, teaching and research processes at university by the means of the newmedia and new technologies4, 5. As a part of the GALILEA project, introduced at the TechnischeUniversität Berlin, the new gender sensitive Bachelor of Science program “Natural Sciences inthe Information Society”6, 7, 8 provides two new innovative lectures, which started in winter term07/08 and summer term 2008, respectively: 1. Scientific Information Management (freshmen lecture) and 2. New Media in Education and Research (sophomore lecture)This innovative program is designed to be very interdisciplinary while

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Carroll, University of Minnesota, Duluth

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

course lab setting.Lab StationThe lab station on which this bit-mapped graphics display is based has been described in earlierASEE papers1,2. It consists of a Wytec Dragon development board for the Freescale S12microcontroller3,4, plus some additional hardware and software to implement an alphanumericmatrix keyboard input device and interface to a standard low-cost CRT monochrome display foroutput. As described in those earlier papers, the CRT display was used originally just to providecharacter output for display of alphanumeric characters. Figure 1 shows a typical displayproduced by the CRT output in the original lab station design. Page

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Fuller, Auburn University; Chetan Sankar, Auburn University; P.K. Raju, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

,engineering education needs to be drastically altered to give studentsopportunities to work in international research teams 1, 3, 4, 6. 7. Page 14.409.2Engineering educators should introduce interdisciplinary learning in the curriculum whereverpossible and explore the use of case studies of engineering successes and failures as a learningtool 2. These findings lead to the premise upon which this paper is based: New challenges andopportunities are emerging due to the emergence of global R&D teams and future engineers mustbe given opportunities to learn how to perform effectively in this market. Figure 1: Sample LITEE case study listingThe

Conference Session

Computer Education Innovations

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Claudia E. Vergara, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Cindee Dresen, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce; Tammy Coxen, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce; Taryn MacFarlane, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce; Kysha Frazier, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce; Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Louise Paquette, Lansing Community College; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Jeannine LaPrad, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

toaddress computational problem-solving that is aligned with industry needs. This approach Page 14.848.3somewhat mirrors the process by which ABET accomplished a reformed evaluation criteriabased on customer focus, continuous program improvement, and outcomes in student learning1.We are developing a dynamic process that documents every step of the research from engagingthe different stakeholders to implementing the process for curricular reform.Project ImplementationCPACE is based on the ‘Transformation Model’ depicted in Figure 1. This model envisions acyclic process with feedback among the five major nodes

Conference Session

Computational Tools and Simulation III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Krishna Madhavan, Purdue University; Jacob Schroeder, Clemson University; Hanjun Xian, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

focuses on a qualitative analysis of articles in the engineering educationliterature drawn from The Journal of Engineering Education spanning the past 10 years. Fourbroad criteria guided the selection and analyses of the articles: (1) Content: What major types of content for cyberlearning environments are being created focused particularly on engineering education? For example, the NSF identifies various categories of content for cyberlearning environments such as interactive online courses, intelligent tutors, virtual and remote laboratories, and serious games. (2) Pedagogy: How are these cyberlearning environments being incorporated in the classroom to promote learning? For example, several educators have reported

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Tront, Virginia Tech; Kimberly Filer, Virginia Tech; Glenda Scales, Virginia Tech; Jane Prey, Microsoft Research

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

wireless3 Reliability 10 Upgrade options4 Maintenance availability 11 1 vs. 2 SIMM memory5 Pricing 12 Ease of purchase6 Video card/memory 13 Vendor market share7 Weight 14 Killer featureVendor samples were evaluated over a period of three months. A number of vendor technicalbriefings related to the procurement were held where we discussed the company’s commitmentto our program, the type of technical support that could be expected, and other details thatensured us of a sound relationship with the vendor. Fujitsu Computers Inc

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Vernier, Ohio State University; Craig Morin, Ohio State University; Patrick Wensing, Ohio State University; Ryan Hartlage, Ohio State University; Barbara Carruthers, Ohio State University; Richard Freuler, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

educationalexperience of the students is evaluated.System LayoutFigure 1 shows the overall design of the positioning system. Wii remotes collect informationabout the position of high-intensity infrared LED beacons affixed nine inches above the coursesurface on student-built robots. This information is transmitted over Bluetooth to a C applicationrunning on a Linux machine, where it is gathered and sent to a Microsoft Visual C# library. TheC# library interprets LED locations as robots and converts pixels from the Wii remote image toinches in a global coordinate system. A National Instruments LabVIEW application interactswith the C# library and transmits location and orientation information to the student-built robotsover a radio frequency network.In total

Conference Session

Robots in Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

asked students to describe characteristics of team learningenvironments that would be most productive and supportive. A second part of the pre-semestersurvey aimed to help students to identify mastery project topics. In 2006-2007, each RSTstudent was expected to become the team’s expert in that topic.The survey presented twelve topics related to the team’s current projects. Students rated eachtopic according to four criteria: (1) importance to personal goals; (2) importance to RST projects; Page 14.864.3(3) level of confidence in the skill area; and (4) the student’s priority for this skill area based onhis/her individual interest and

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christiaan Gribble, Grove City College

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

course dedicated to these increasingly important topics.1 IntroductionThe many-core revolution currently underway in the design of processing architecturesnecessitates an early introduction to parallel computing. Commodity desktop systems with twocores per physical processor are now common, and the current processor roadmap for majormanufacturers indicates a rapid progression toward systems with four, eight, or even 16 cores.At the same time, programmable graphics processing units (GPUs) have evolved from fixed-function pipelines implementing the z-buffer rendering algorithm to programmable, highlyparallel machines that can be used to solve a wide range of problems. Together, thesedevelopments require that students possess an in-depth

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Birmingham, Grove City College; Vincent DiStasi, Grove City College; Gary Welton, Grove City College

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

students who are intrinsically motivated to learn, who like technology inthe classroom, who like delivered notes (or at least faculty-provided notes), and who are activelearners are more apt to be satisfied with active-learning software.1. IntroductionFor the past two years, we have studied student and faculty satisfaction with educationaltechnology we regularly use in the classroom: the Tablet PC and active-learning software, suchas DyKnow and Classroom Presenter. These studies are based on user surveys over a largenumber of courses given at our comprehensive college, ranging from science and engineering tothe humanities. Since our students receive a Tablet PC and software when they enter the college,they use the Tablet PC as their primary and

Conference Session

Signal Processing Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Birmingham, Grove City College

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

anexcellent choice for senior projects. Senior CS students have enough programming experience tohandle the software development; EE seniors have sufficient knowledge to understand the basics ofradio, signal processing, and circuit design. The integration of a complex hardware and softwaresystem provides an excellent educational experience. In this paper, we describe the senior projectcourses, the pedagogical goals, and how it supports our ABET course outcomes.1. IntroductionSoftware-defined radio (SDR) is an important technology that underlies many modern wirelesscommunications systems for both telephony and data communications. With the availability ofcheap high-speed computing platforms, inexpensive electronics, and good software

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Silas Bernardoni, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Mauricio Rodríguez Alcalá, Skidmore College; Maria Rodriguez Alcala, Paraguay Educa

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

contribute money to purchase computers, while very few contributefunding to develop the infrastructure and skilled professionals that are essential to the success ofany technology deployment, regardless of location. This is a substantial problem whenconsidering that research shows the initial costs of computer deployments in developingcountries consists of only 25-33% of the Total Cost of Ownership over the course of a five yearperiod.[1] To address this problem, student organizations at the University of Wisconsin-Madisonand Skidmore College in New York have formed a collaborative relationship that also includesParaguay Educa, an NGO coordinating the country-wide XO deployment in Paraguay. Thiscollaboration was formed to help provide the

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carole Goodson, University of Houston; Susan Miertschin, University of Houston; Barbara Stewart, University of Houston; Marcella Norwood, University of Houston; Luces Faulkenberry

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

in the developmentof concepts and skills (referred to as COST).The analysis was designed to consider the following questions.1. What is the student performance in the quantitative course by format?2. What is the student performance in the qualitative course by format?3. For each course, does performance differ based on WEB or LEC formats – overall and within a specific format?4. Does performance differ relative to individual assessment items and or types of assessment items?Performance was measured using a set of course examination items. For each of the two courses, Page 14.924.4a set of 10 objective (multiple-choice) test items

Conference Session

Programming for Engineering Students II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jayaraman Jayaraman Thiagarajan, Arizona State University; Kostas Tsakalis, Arizona State University; Andreas Spanias, Arizona State University; Harvey Thornburg, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

BLOCK DIAGRAM FRONT PANEL Figure 1. Illustration of components of a VI.2. LabVIEW in Signals and Systems LabVIEW enables users to develop applications that are interactive, executed in paralleland multicore. LabVIEW programs are called Virtual Instruments (VIs). Each VI has three mainparts: the block diagram, the front panel and the icon/connector. The block diagram contains theactual graphical code, while the front panel is the user interface. Controls and indicators on thefront panel allow the user to input data into or extract data from a running virtual environment.Each VI in turn can contain sub VIs and other structures. This hierarchical programmingstructure allows code reusability

Conference Session

Embedded Computing

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Swanbom, Louisiana Tech University; Davis Harbour, Louisiana Tech University; Hisham Hegab, Louisiana Tech University; Danny Eddy, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

attributes defined by TheEngineer of 20209 in ourstudents. As the studentsmove through the sequence,a steadily increasing levelof independence is requiredfrom the students as theydesign and build projectswith a steadily growingdegree of complexity. Intheir first course, freshmenundertake a centrifugalpump project10. In thesecond course, the pumpsare used to circulate saltwater in a “fishtank”- asystem (see Figure 1) inwhich the students use amicrocontroller to controlthe temperature and salinityof a small volume of water Figure 1 – Temperature and Salinity Controlled Systemusing temperature andconductivity sensors that they make and calibrate as part of the course content. The final courseof the freshman year requires the students to

Conference Session

Tablet and Portable PCs for Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ricky Castles, Virginia Tech; Eric Scott, Virginia Tech; Jenny Lo, Virginia Tech; Vinod Lohani, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

facultymembers, 16 graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), and 12 undergraduate graders. Two facultymembers act as the course coordinators and two GTAs are assigned workshop coordinationresponsibilities. One undergraduate grader coordinates the grading work of all graders and workswith faculty and GTA coordinators in facilitating grading work. Table 1 gives the progression ofTablet PC/DyKnow based instruction activities in EngE1024 over the last three years.This course serves as the test site to try and implement various pedagogical experiments targetedat enhancing engineering instruction. Best practices are then communicated to faculty colleaguesin other departments and those teaching subsequent courses within the same department.Electronic Grading

Conference Session

Computational Tools and Simulation II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brianno Coller, Northern Illinois University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

-time. On the surface, though, it has much of the look and feelof a commercial video game. A screen shot of the game, EduTorcs, is shown in Figure 1.Students do not “play” the video game in the usualway. They interact with the game through a softwareinterface. Instead of spending countless hours,joystick in hand, honing one’s eye-hand coordinationand reaction skills, the mechanical engineeringstudents improve their “driving” skills by applyingengineering analysis to the problem. They writedriving algorithms in C++, and their programs getlinked to the game at run time. Although they drive avirtual car in a virtual world, students solve authenticengineering problems. To succeed in the gamestudents must think and act like engineers.We originally

Conference Session

Computational Tools and Simulation I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nabil Lehlou, University of Arkansas; Nebil Buyurgan, University of Arkansas; Justin Chimka, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

whichstudents at different locations can greatly benefit by accessing remote laboratory equipment andobtaining hands-on experience [1-7]. Not only that, but Web technology is also able to providenew teaching techniques that are appealing to students [5]. On the other hand, RFID is one of the new technologies that is more visible than ever and hasa high potential of being used extensively in the near future. The existence of RFID laboratoriesin educational environments will serve the purpose of providing testing results and conclusions,as well as giving the involved students the opportunity to obtain hands-on experience, making Page 14.209.2them

Conference Session

Computational Tools and Simulation I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Stanley, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

was found that the students’ qualitative understanding of particle kinematics andkinetics was significantly improved by using the program. The students consider the softwareeasy to use and recommend it to instructors who teach introductory Dynamics classes.In this paper, the software functionality will be explained. The results of the subjectiveassignment will be detailed, and pedagogical advantages will be clarified via survey results andthe comments of students.1. IntroductionIn typical Dynamics courses, most homework problems require the student to solve for a givenvariable at an instant in space and time. The professor typically assigns a set of homeworkproblems and the students solve each problem by hand. The student knows that his or

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patrick Cunningham, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Shannon Sexton, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Julia Williams, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

reasons for this include the learning curve for usingtablet PCs effectively and the limited but quickly growing body of research supporting theireffectiveness.There has been much work at our school since 2003 studying the implementation of tablet PCs inthe classroom and DyKnow Vision collaborative software.1-4 In these studies the instructor hashad a tablet PC and the students have had tablet PCs, laptops with Wacom slates, or no computerduring lecture. The DyKnow Vision software enabled implementation of a variety of classroomassessment techniques and electronic collaborations between students and between students andthe instructor. This study focuses on instructor use of a tablet PC for lecture delivery whilestudents only have hard paper copies

Conference Session

Computational Tools and Simulation III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lok PASUPULETI, Northern Illinois University; Omar Ghrayeb, Northern Illinois University; Hubert Ley, Argonne National Laboratory; Clifford Mirman, Northern Illinois University; Young Park, Argonne National Laboratory

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education