Conference Session

Digital and Embedded System Design

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Clint Kohl, Cedarville University; Keith Shomper, Cedarville University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

year, planning forthe course typically begins at the end of the previous spring semester. The process begins withstudents and faculty suggesting projects for the following year as the current year’s projects winddown. Project ideas are usually a mixture of continued research from former student work andnew applications for both the engineering department and industry partners. Any student orfaculty member in the program may submit a project idea. We also receive a few externalsubmissions from colleagues and business partners who are familiar with the courses. Duringthe summer, designated faculty coordinate with the proposed project sponsors to determineproject scope, technical complexity, resource requirements, sponsor support and availability

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bruno Osorno, California State University-Northridge

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

fast rate in the UnitedStates. In 2004 [1] about 2.3 million students where enrolled in online courses. Universities havebeen developing strategic plans to tackle the implementation of online teaching. The majorhurdles needed to overcome are; changing the mindset of faculty, budgets, teacher training innew technologies, online student population’s new studying habits and quality of instruction.ChangeChange is never easy; perhaps it is the most difficult hurdle in online teaching. Faculty, need tobe fully aware of the linking of pedagogy, technology and learning-styles [2]. Furthermore, it hasbeen our experience that the need of “electronic textbooks” is the critical event that will facilitateonline teaching of electrical engineering in a very

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fadi Kurdahi, University of California, Irvine; Judy Shoemaker, University of California, Irvine; John LaRue, University of California-Irvine

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

(Program Outcomes and Assessment),we have developed an overall assessment plan to measure program outcomes. The assessmentplan is shown in Table 1 and the schedule for assessment activities is shown in Table 2. Theassessment plan includes a mix of direct and indirect measures of program outcomes. The directmeasures are (1) course-embedded assessment and (2) a scoring rubric for the senior designproject. These two direct measures are described in more detail below. The two indirectmeasures are end-of-course student surveys and a graduating senior survey.Our assessment plan has several characteristics worth noting. First, we listed all of our program

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hassan El-Kishky, The University of Texas-Tyler; Ralph Hippenstiel, The University of Texas-Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

include an electronic guitar, an iPod dock station, and a color detection machine.The work in the project started late in the summer of 2005 and the laboratory was fullyfunctional early during the spring of 2006. Several undergraduate lab assistants worked on thetask of preparing a categorized set of circuit project plans for the Hobby Shop and compilingthem into a library that was eventually made accessible to students late in the fall of 2005. Eachproject included schematics, a brief description of the use of the circuit, its functionality andapplication limitations. Also, several short talks were given to freshmen classes across campuswith a focus on engineering students in particular. The project was promoted and potentialparticipants were

Conference Session

Optical and Wireless Communication Systems

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Moore, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

this lab describes the primary functions of each network element. Theobjective of this lab is to have the participants familiarize themselves with the procedures forprovisioning various network elements by having them perform administrative configuration ofeach element through its craft interface.Lab Experiment 08 – Crossnet - InterconnectionsThis lab is the first in a two lab series focused on crossnet network elements. The objective ofthis particular lab is to have participants plan, and implement, point-to-point T1 connectionsbetween crossnets. The crossnets are provisioned for multi-channel Super Frame and ExtendedSuper Frame service. Participants research and outline a procedure for validating theinterconnection and the service.Lab

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Richter, Technische Universitat Berlin; Sven Grottke, Technische Universitat Berlin

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

know how JPEG1and its related standards work. But we believe that just knowing and managing the technology isnot sufficient to prepare them for their further careers. One of the skills one needs in industry isthe ability to plan and manage large projects. And the team has to be organized as well: Studentshave to learn how to cooperate with their colleagues, an often surprisingly complex task in alarge team, and a skill usually not taught at university level. Last but not least, as we are workingat the institute of mathematics of the TU Berlin, we also considered it important to make ourstudents understand the scientific foundations of the field.Our idea was to simulate the work-flow of industrial software development as close as auniversity

Conference Session

ECE Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Doug Sterk, Virginia Tech; Tim Thacker, Virginia Tech; Elizabeth Tranter, Virginia Tech; Richard Goff, Virginia Tech; Janis Terpenny, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

populations in STEM fields. As multi-institutional centers with a 10-year potential NSF funding cycle, ERCs are well suited to fosterinter-institutional collaboration with core and outreach partner institutions over the course ofmany years. To encourage the development of programmatic linkages as part of each Center’sdiversity strategic plan, the NSF offered all active ERCs the opportunity to submit proposals forthe development of programs which create linkages between research centers and large-scaleNSF human resource development initiatives. For CPES, this program solicitation representedthe opportunity to expand linkages with the NSF’s Louis Stokes Alliance for MinorityParticipation (LSAMP) program. The LSAMP program “is aimed at increasing the

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J. Shawn Addington, Virginia Military Institute

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

consideration is given to the assessmentprocesses, this paper will focus on the important, overarching issue of how the data from theseprocesses have been used to effect program changes, evaluate the effectiveness of previousprogram changes, validate program direction and philosophy, and influence future planning atboth the program- and course-levels.In recent years, there have been a significant number of publications that report on the variousassessment strategies being employed by numerous institutions; however, there appear to be veryfew strategies that have matured to the point of being able to provide details on the use of thedata gathered from these schemes, especially over the long-term. This paper attempts to addressthis apparent deficiency of

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education III

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Don Millard, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Mohamed Chouikha, Howard University; Frederick Berry, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

learning to occur: 1) Active Experimentation (protoboards, simulations, case study,homework), 2) Reflective Observation (logs, journals, brainstorming), 3) AbstractConceptualization (lecture, papers, analogies), and 4) Concrete Experience (laboratories, fieldwork, observations). This project is investigating the impact on student learning outcomesproduced by incorporation of the Mobile Studio pedagogy in courses that will be delivered usingthe Kolb cycle to sequence the courses’ activities as follows: 1. Students are introduced to topics and are then asked to formulate hypotheses and plan/perform experiments to determine the validity of their intuition. 2. The students relate their outcomes to real-life applications and provide a sense as

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Guoping Wang, Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne (Eng)

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

is themost commonly used character code. During the implementation of this JiTT project, WebCT will be used to deliver warm-upassignments and collect students’ responses. In the event that WebCT server is down, both thewarm-up assignments and students’ responses can be delivered via email. The assessment toolsin WebCT will be used to deliver these warm-up exercises and gather students’ response forJiTT practices.Project Assessment Plan Development Project outcomes, which include students’ attitude change, student-instructor’sinteractions, time spent in and out of class presentations, the natures of JiTT presentations, willbe assessed and evaluated using surveys/questionnaires. Student responses to a standardattitudinal survey

Conference Session

Optical and Wireless Communication Systems

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Caverly, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

follows a standard course plan for a one semester coursewith this focus. In keeping with the curriculum track concept, an introduction to on-chip passivestructures (on-chip resistors, capacitors, inductors and transformers) is introduced during therelevant discussions on the electromagnetic origins of these elements (details of this introductioncan be found elsewhere2). Page 12.435.2 Figure 1. RF and Microwave Engineering Undergraduate curriculum flow. The Microwave Engineering course emphasizes passive circuit design with the followinghigh level list of topics using a widely used text3: • Transmission Line Theory which covers

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ismail Jouny, Lafayette College

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

=prints&sid=2097[2] http://www.ecmweb.com/mag/electric_businessminded_engineer/index.html[3] http://www.prism-magazine.org/jan04/global.cfm[4] http://www.ece.wpi.edu/News/mezak.html[5] www.tmworld.com[6] http://www.silicontaiga.org/home.asp?artId=3072[7] P. Bhattacharya, I Dabipi, H. Majlesein, “Effects of Principle Technological Thrust Areas inDeveloping Electrical Engineering Education”, ICEE`99, Paper No. 429, Czech Republic, 1999.[8] www-ee.stanford.edu/forms/eeplan.pdf “A Strategic Plan for Electrical Engineering at Stanford”[9] E. Ferguson “Impact of Offshore Outsourcing on CS/IS Curricula”, proceedings of CCSC CentralPlains Conference, pp. 68-77, April 2004.[10] Hira, R, “The Dependence of Developing Countries on U.S. IT Demand

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Min-Sung Koh, Eastern Washington University; Esteban Rodriguez-Marek, Eastern Washington University; Claudio Talarico, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

instructive”, and “It would help to go over in lab a few more of the GUI objects,specifically the radio buttons and button groups”. 3. Course renovation for DSP and/or FPGA implementation using MatlabThis section provides a brief explanation of the on-going plan for course renovations in the EEcurriculum at EWU. The overarching goal is to incorporate a method to go from system leveldesign to real implementation of either a logic circuit or a signal processing algorithm. Many EEcourses are based on thorough understanding of theory. For instance, some classes, such as DSP,Digital Communication, and Digital Feedback Control, rely on deep theoretical understandingbefore undertaking the task of merging theory into practice. Much of the theory in those

Conference Session

Digital and Embedded System Design

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Liang Hong, Tennessee State University; Md Hasanuzzaman, Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

activities.Through the CAPE/eLMS platform, the adaptive in-class instruction will be enabled. The Page 12.1507.5classroom activities can be selected from a pre-planned set of alternatives according to theformative assessments. The platform will also enable the interaction between the in-classactivities and the adaptive learning activities outside the classroom, such as the preparation forin-class activities and the following up. The interaction can be achieved through dynamicselection of the activities according to the classroom feedback.The CAPE/eLMS platform can also provide more immediate diagnostic feedback than traditionalgraded homework assignments and

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Chang, USMA; Grant Jacoby, USMA; Lisa Shay, U.S. Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

(Hordes of Autonomous Ground and ArielRobots.) The project goal is to build two robots that cooperatively perform a task autonomously.Figure 2 provides an illustration of the challenge faced by HAGAR. The team must build andprogram one robot to logically and autonomously dispense several sensors within a room ofunknown size and configuration and have it transmit sensor location information back to anotherrobot that will retrieve a subset of the sensors distributed, all within a given period of time. Anexample of HAGAR’s requirements model is provided in Figure 3 to show the interplay betweenelectrical engineering and computer science. If Team HAGAR succeeds, the students plan tocompete in the MIT Soldier Design Competition and submit their

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education III

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Pitts, Oklahoma State University; Patrick Teague, Oklahoma State University; Alan Cheville, Oklahoma State University; Charles Bunting, Oklahoma State University; Sohum Sohoni, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

: “Engineering students learn what we teach them, but often do not become what we intend.[Students learn] the behaviors that let [them] succeed in classes, but these behaviors do not always correlate with success in engineering. Engineering Students for the 21st Century is a reform program for undergraduate engineering that is trying to align the behaviors that are taught in our program with those that help students succeed. To accomplish this we plan to transition from emphasizing acquisition of knowledge to emphasizing student development.”1Our research problem relates to the overall ES21C project, and by extension the transition toteam-based learning6, as a “devil’s advocate” test. Many previous studies focus

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Douglas Williams, Georgia Institute of Technology; Robert Butera, Georgia Institute of Technology; Selcuk Uluagac, Georgia Institute of Technology; Matthew Clark, Georgia Institute of Technology; Andy Deck, National Instruments; Michael Torba, National Instruments; Steven Trahan, National Instruments

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

means to stop). Students developflowcharts to plan the control and timing structure of their program and then program theirrobots to respond reliably to their clap commands.Associated technical subdiscipline overviews: electronic design and microsystemsThe Light Sensor: The NXT light sensor is able to distinguish gray-scale light levels fromambient light or reflected from its self-generated light. A common use of the light sensor isto allow a robot to follow lines drawn on a surface. In this lab students learn how to use thelight sensor to follow a black figure drawn on a white surface. The initial algorithm modelsthe sensor as making binary black/white decisions, but in the final challenge students usesimple prediction and feedback from the

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dick Blandford, University of Evansville; Deborah Hwang, University of Evansville

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

change in emphasis in computer science on more engineeringrelated topics. Computer science at that time had no real plans for accreditation mostly becausethe Computer Science Accreditation Board (CSAB) required a minimum of five faculty in acomputer science program and accreditation seemed unnecessary as computer science graduateswere able to find jobs regardless of program accreditation.In the year 2000, when CSAB joined with ABET and the Computing Accreditation Commission(CAC) was created, there was a sense that accreditation in computer science would becomemuch more important to industry, graduate schools, and prospective students. In 2006 thecomputer science program at the University of Evansville was accredited for the first time. Thistoo

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arlen Planting, Boise State University; Sin Ming Loo, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

software.This paper describes the process that led us to the discovery that internet protocols might beapplicable to send messages reliably between two devices less than an inch apart, and thedevelopment of an experimental course to expose students to computer science topics in order tofind better solutions for small embedded system applications. Section 2 describes our experiencewith a project where the apparently logical choice of methods to manage transmission andreceiving of data initially produced code that was overly complex and difficult to keep runningreliably. Various attempts to fix the problems and provide a robust protocol were unsuccessful,until an internet protocol was applied. Section 3 outlines the plan for an experimental one-semester

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wagdy Mahmoud, University of the District of Columbia

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

designer, which is a very demandingjob. Such a job require talented and highly-competent professional with a leadership quality andvision. The author will be very satisfied if these system-level design projects help train a few ofsuch professional. To ensure achieving such results, we are planning to continue developing adiversified set of quality system-level projects, refining the contents of existing ones, and toimproving the tutorials and handouts of used design tools. We are also working on improving theevaluation and assessment tools of these project courses.References1. N. Ahmed, T. Natarajan, and k. R. Rao, “Discrete Cosine Transform,” IEEE Trans. Computers, Vol. C-23, pp.90-94, 19742. S. A. White, “Application of Distributed Arithmetic

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alka Harriger, Purdue University; Kyle Lutes, Purdue University; Jack Purdum, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, Page 12.472.4computer architectures, and database management systems (DBMSs). The members of the IABfeel that any student who plans a career in IT should understand the essentials of all these areas.During the fifth through eight semesters, students can get more depth in any of these areas byenrolling in the many elective courses offered.Considerations for the Software Development CoursesThe purpose of this smorgasbord of course experiences is to give the student an early, yet fairlycomplete, overview of the curriculum areas offered by CIT. In addition, at the end of eachcourse, students acquire a new, immediately-marketable skill. This exposure not only increasestheir employability for summer internships or full-time jobs, but also should

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Lord, University of San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

an article, 1 pointfor distributing it, 2 points for their questions, 2 points for the summary and 3 points for leadingthe discussion. Given that there were more weeks in the semester than students in the class, theinstructor initially planned on leading the discussions herself during the remaining weeks. Afterthe students signed up during the first week of class, the extra weeks occurred late in thesemester. As the semester progressed, several students expressed a desire to lead an additional“Fabulous Friday” as a way to earn extra credit for the course or to improve their performanceover their first “Fabulous Friday”. Students were given the opportunity to do another “FabulousFriday” for up to five extra credit points. For the two students

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dorin Patru, Rochester Institute of Technology; Daniel Phillips, Rochester Institute of Technology; Eric Peskin, Rochester Institute of Technology (COE)

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

concept of managing their time in a diligent manner oncethey have been given access to the facilities to work on their laboratory assignments in a muchless time-constrained fashion. Despite definite statements that indicate that the laboratoryassignments are analogous to conventional homework assignments, it usually takes one or twoweeks to realize that the assigned activities can not be accomplished within the confines of theassigned laboratory sessions. The students come to realize that additional time is necessary, notonly to execute the laboratory assignments, but just as importantly, to plan how they will beaccomplished, put together a well considered design of software, in the case of themicrocomputer course, or hardware, in the case of the

Conference Session

Design in the ECE Curriculum

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Huettel, Duke University; Kip Coonley, Duke University; Michael Gustafson, Duke University; Jungsang Kim, Duke University; Gary Ybarra, Duke University; Leslie Collins, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

students’ technical skills through individual robot design,inter-robot communication, and system integration, one goal of the IDC is for students todevelop project management and communication skills. Thus, a variety of deliverables wererequired over the course of the IDC including: 1. Conceptual Design Written Report (Due in week 1). To emphasize the importance of planning in the design process, each sub-team was required to present a conceptual design to the instructor before they were allowed to begin actual construction of their robot. This report included: a. the problem statement in the students’ own words, b. a list of objectives and deliverables, c. a schedule with important milestones and task

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education III

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cordelia Brown, Purdue University; David Meyer, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

(Spring 2007), only a traditional lecture format is beingoffered; in the subsequent trial planned (Fall 2007), only a directed problem solving version willbe offered. This should effectively decouple course format choice as well as any latent effects ofon-line lecture availability from the exam performance results recorded. A more detailed analysis of how the Index of Learning Styles survey influenced students’course format choices, relative to the guidelines we provided, as well as how those choices (or“non-choices”) may have impacted their exam performance would also be enlightening.Convincing students to make an active choice of course format (given this relatively uniqueopportunity offered to them in the computer engineering curriculum at