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Enhanced Radio Lab Experience Using ePortfolios

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Conference

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Publication Date

June 26, 2016

Start Date

June 26, 2016

End Date

June 29, 2016

ISBN

978-0-692-68565-5

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Tagged Division

Electrical and Computer

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/p.26683

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/26683

Download Count

429

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Paper Authors

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J. Craig Prather Auburn University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-0119-9256

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Craig Prather is a graduate student in the Auburn University department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He graduated with his undergraduate degree in summer of 2015 in electrical engineering. He is pursuing a doctorate in electrical engineering with a research focus in electromagnetics and microelectronics. Craig is currently a teaching assistant for a junior level lab where the students build and test an AM radio.

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Haley Kay Harrell Auburn University

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Haley Harrell is a graduate teaching and research assistant in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Auburn University. She received a bachelor of electrical engineering degree in December 2015 and is currently pursuing a master of science in electrical engineering. Her research interests include electromagnetics and microelectronics.

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Lesley Erin Bartlett Auburn University

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Lesley Erin Bartlett is Assistant Director of University Writing for the ePortfolio Project at Auburn University, where she works with faculty and students from across disciplines. She completed her PhD in Composition and Rhetoric with a graduate specialization in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2014. She has developed and taught courses in composition, rhetorical theory, literature, and women’s and gender studies. Her research interests include composition theory and pedagogy, feminist rhetorical theory, and performance studies. Her work on rhetorical performance strongly influences her work with the ePortfolio Project.

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Stuart M. Wentworth Auburn University

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Stu Wentworth received his electrical engineering doctorate from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1990. Since then, he has been with Auburn University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, specializing in electromagnetics and microelectronics. He has authored a pair of undergraduate electromagnetics texts and has won several awards related to teaching. He is the department’s undergraduate Program Director and Chair of its Curriculum and Assessment Committee.

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Abstract

In the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at our university, there is a course unofficially referred to as the “radio lab”. This is a required 1 credit hour course for the Electrical Engineering program. Students simulate, breadboard, and measure the performance of a variety of AM radio building blocks (various amplifiers, detectors, etc.). One of the lab’s objectives is to develop the student’s writing ability. Historically, this has been accomplished by requiring bi-weekly technical memos.

Our university has recently encouraged the use of ePortfolios as a quality enhancement tool. An ePortfolio may be loosely defined as a personalized, professional webpage created to showcase an individual. In the 2015 Fall semester, radio lab students were allowed to use ePortfolios instead of submitting conventional memos. For this trial run, 40% of the students (14 of 35) opted to develop ePortfolios. Two of the teaching assistants for the course (the first authors on the proposed paper), were tasked with working with the students on the mechanics of creating ePortfolios and on suggested content. Some content promoted by the teaching assistants included insertion of breadboarded circuit pictures and oscilloscope waveforms along with discussion of results and technical data. We theorize that the inclusion of supplemental media and reflective writing will promote a deeper understanding of the course material.

Although the test group (all volunteers) and the control group (the remainder of the class) were not randomly selected, we will nevertheless compare the performance between the two groups. This comparison will be based on the final exam and by the use of feedback surveys to determine whether ePortfolios enhance understanding of the material and whether or not it is a useful addition to the radio lab. The feedback will also be used to improve the procedure, with the intent to require the use of ePortfolios for all radio lab students beginning spring semester.

Prather, J. C., & Harrell, H. K., & Bartlett, L. E., & Wentworth, S. M. (2016, June), Enhanced Radio Lab Experience Using ePortfolios Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26683

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