scholarly journals A "Hands On" Module To Introduce Freshmen To Electrical Engineering

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Voigt ◽  
Nathan Shenck ◽  
Delores Etter ◽  
Thomas Salem ◽  
Samara Firebaugh
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Hands On

scholarly journals Power Electronics Education A Contemporary Teaching Appproach

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 79-106
Author(s):  
José Roberto Quezada Peña ◽  
Brenda Irla Cardoso Feitosa ◽  
Jefferson William Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Power Electronics ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Technological Knowledge ◽  
Practical Training ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Logic Device ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Labview Fpga

Currently, there is a growing demand for methodologies that best qualify engineering students at universities. These methodologies require a substantial change in Engineering Teaching programs improving or even changing the traditional ways of imparting knowledge to students. In Power Electronics (PE) study the factors that make learning difficult for Electrical Engineering students, in order for them to achieve full understanding of the subjects addressed in a first discipline in this area, are the academic maturity required coupled with their multidisciplinary nature. The problem is aggravated in practical activities, which demand the availability of a laboratory infrastructure with specific characteristics not always available. An alternative for the study of PE, with a more contemporary focus, is to introduce, through a new Instructional Design (ID) Project, not only the incorporation of more Hands-On activities that approach truly meaningful (authentic) contents. But also, new methodologies and technologies to support educational objectives that make full use of Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICTs).This work proposes to develop and carry out a methodological design of a blended teaching for a power-electronics-based practical training program (PEBPTP) for students of the Electrical Engineering Course of the Federal University of Maranhão in Brazil. The proposed program is mainly based on the use of a digital controller (unified) based on FPGA, developed and realized specifically for control and power inverters study. From controller´s VHDL Code already realized, a Reuse Logic Block is generated (Intellectual Property Core (IP Core)), for use within the LabVIEW FPGA Hardware Description Environment. A Graphical Interface (GUI), more intuitive, and developed from the LabVIEW environment, will support the realization of the PEBPTP, for parameterizing the Controller, and show relevant figures of merit of the performance of the converter being study. The active methodologies, converging with the diverse possibilities of resources of the DICTs, implanted in the classroom, with the adequate contextualization of the specific resources of each area, contribute increasingly to the student being protagonist of their own knowledge construction. Finally is proposed, and in full adherence to a novel trend, that both the PEBPTP and the unified controller previously developed in FPGA are embedded in what is being named Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC). This embedded structure will allow access to the laboratory hands-on program via a web service that uses a fully programmable logic device (PLD) that incorporates an integrated structure known as System-on-a-Chip (SoC). The above proposals and experiences involve the mastery not only of curricular and technological knowledge, inherent to the training of an engineer, but of mainly, the pedagogical technological knowledge and correct use of DICTs. At this point, in particular, is founded our contribution within the context of Engineering Teaching, to advance in the improvement or perhaps in the modification of the "classroom" of engineering courses, which today go beyond the physical space of the university.

eLearning hands-on: blending interactive eLearning with practical engineering laboratory

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 278-299
Author(s):  
Cheddi Kiravu ◽  
Kamen M. Yanev ◽  
Moses O. Tunde ◽  
Anna M. Jeffrey ◽  
Dirk Schoenian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Practical Engineering ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Theory Practice Gap ◽  
Engineering Pedagogy ◽  
The University

Purpose Integrating laboratory work into interactive engineering eLearning contents augments theory with practice while simultaneously ameliorating the apparent theory-practice gap in traditional eLearning. The purpose of this paper is to assess and recommend media that currently fulfil this desirable dual pedagogical goal. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative approach compares the eLearner-content interactivity deriving from Mathematica’s Computable Document File (CDF) application, Pearson’s myLab and Lucas-Nuelle’s UniTrain-I. Illustrative interactive examples written in JavaScript and Java are thereby drawn from an engineering eLearning course developed at the University of Botswana (UB). Findings Based on its scientific rigour, wide application scope, engineering analytical depth, minimal programming requirements and cross-subject-cum-faculty application and deployment potential, the authors found the CDF to be a versatile environment for generating dynamically interactive eLearning contents. The UniTrain-I, blending a multimedia information and communication technology (ICT)-based interactive eLearner-content philosophy with practical laboratory experimentation, is recommended for meeting the paper’s dual eLearning goal as the most adept framework to-date, blending dynamic interactive eLearning content with laboratory hands-on engineering experimentation. Research limitations/implications The lack of other competing frameworks limited the considerations to only the three mentioned above. Consequently, the results are subject to review as the ongoing research advances new insights. Originality/value The conclusions help eLearning designers plan ICT-based resources for integration into practical electrical engineering eLearning pedagogy and both CDF and UniTrain-I help dispel the prevailing apparent disquiet regarding the effectiveness of the eLearning-mediated electrical engineering pedagogy. In addition, the cited examples document an original electrical engineering eLearning course developed at the UB.

scholarly journals A New Laboratory for Hands-on Teaching of Electrical Engineering

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Cavagnino ◽  
Gianmario Pellegrino ◽  
Abouzar Estebsari ◽  
Eric Armando ◽  
Radu Bojoi
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Hands On

Laboratory-Based Training for Electrical Engineering Freshman

1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-119
Author(s):  
Chawdhurry Bhurtun
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Oral Presentation ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Team Spirit

Training to develop design and communication skills and team spirit at undergraduate level is described. After having been introduced to some fundamental engineering techniques, students work on mini-projects to gain hands-on experience. Assessment is based on submission of a report and an oral presentation.

Theory, Fabrication, and Characterization of MEMS Devices: An Interdisciplinary Course for Mechanical Engineers

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Flachsbart ◽  
S. Prakash ◽  
J. Yeom ◽  
Y. Wu ◽  
G. Z. Mozsgai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Sensor ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Microelectromechanical Systems ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Safety Data ◽  
Logic Gates ◽  
Thin Film Deposition ◽  
Film Deposition ◽  
Half Adder ◽  
Hands On

The need to provide students with hands-on instruction in the fabrication of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) led to the development of an upper-undergraduate, introductory-graduate, laboratory course offered each spring in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering (MechSE). The laboratory is taught in a class 100 cleanroom located in, and operated by, the MechSE department. Fabrication and testing of two MEMS device projects, a piezoresistive membrane pressure sensor and a microfluidic logic chip, facilitate the teaching of standard fabrication procedures, fabrication tool operation, and cleanroom protocols. The course appeals across disciplines as evident by half the students coming from other departments (chemical engineering, chemistry, material science, physics, electrical engineering, aeronautical engineering, etc.). The course also serves to attract prospective graduate students as many students continue to use the cleanroom in their graduate level research. This course broadly covers MEMS fabrication theory while maintaining a focus on practical understanding and laboratory application of that theory. The lecture is tied closely to the laboratory work by covering the tool and procedure theory that is used in the lab each week. An exciting aspect of the course is the hands-on learning experience the students get by independently operating the fabrication equipment themselves, including metal deposition tools, reactive ion etch (RIE) tools, lithography tools (spinners, mask aligners, etc.), and bath etchers and cleaners. Safety is an important aspect of the course where students are tested on safety protocol, Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) familiarity, personal protection procedures, etc. The students also learn benchmark fabrication procedures including standard cleaning protocols (with ultrasonics), the Bosch RIE etching of silicon microstructures, and anisotropic etching of silicon. The piezoresistive membrane pressure sensor project facilitates an understanding of the residual stresses involved in thin-film deposition, stress-strain relationships, and signal analysis for transduction mechanisms. The microfluidic logic chip project, a chip of logic gates (NAND, NOR, etc.) and a half-adder, facilitates understanding fundamental principles of microfluidics, the Navier-Stokes equation, and flow in microchannels. This course, originally sponsored by Intel Corporation, prepares Mechanical Engineers in a multi-disciplinary environment to learn both the practical fundamentals and the theoretical basis of basic and advanced microfabrication that goes beyond the usual CMOS fabrication theory and methodology taught in Electrical Engineering for the microelectronics bound students. As evident from its popularity, the course also serves to excite and equip students for the important Mechanical Engineering field of MEMS.

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