Using FPGA-based configurable processors in teaching hardware/software co-design of embedded multiprocessor systems

Development and Validation of Scale using Rasch Analysis to Measure Students’ Entrepreneurship Readiness to Learn Embedded System Design Course

This paper discusses the challenges of teaching and design of embedded system course. A survey on different approaches of teaching embedded systems design course was presented. The embedded system design class/course is often the course in which students are exposed to fairly complex design problems. In this study, the authors explained the importance of teaching embedded systems courses in a way that can shrink the gap between academically taught skills and the skills sought after by the industry. The literature on embedded systems design was found to be diverse, including relatively small amounts of research data and much larger amounts of evaluation literature. Methodological rating schemes were used to compare for confounding influences in the research studies. Many studies were found but only few of them were included because of lack of methodological rigour in the research and poorly developed outcome measures. This paper suggested that by understanding the cognitive mindset of different discipline, suitable methods can be advised. These can be implemented not only in higher education institutions but also in industrial training. Comments and future work for further research are also listed.

This paper describes the author's experiences using a low-cost system-on-a-chip (SoC) embedded computer system and a commercial real-time operating system (RTOS) in the laboratory component of an undergraduate embedded system design class. The target hardware is a small low-cost X86 SoC computer system that has a wide range of I/O features. For software development, a popular commercial hard RTOS is used that has been designed for use in embedded devices. This course covers both hardware and software topics in embedded systems, and the course culminates in a final team-based design project. A full set of course materials including a textbook with laboratory tutorials, instructor slides, and code examples has been developed and is available online in electronic form.

This study aims at the status quo that theory is divorced from practice in embedded systems teaching process.A new theory teaching method is proposed that using Proteus as hardware simulation environment and Keil as software design environment.With this new method, in the teaching process, the hardware circuit can be simulated by the software environment.The joint use of Proteus and Keil in Embedded System Design Course teaching is clarified by an example of the design of electronic stopwatch which is using GPIO and timer in ARM7.This instance illustrates the flow and application methods about the joint application of Proteus and Keil in embedded system course teaching and practical application detailedly.By this method, it can stimulated students' interest in learning, and enhance the students' understanding of the principles and application of Embedded System Design.Thereby using this method can also improve the embedded system experiment teaching effect.

This paper presents a project based teaching experience in an advanced digital systems design course with emphasis on design methodologies and laboratory assignments. Projects are the core of the practised teaching methodology and are structured in a pedagogical format according to the course programme. The use of the FPGA technology as the most suitable implementation technology for digital design teaching purposes is discussed. The course structure, oriented to the development of real working digital systems, challenges the students and increases their motivation. This way, the learning process is improved and the classes are more productive. A laboratory development infrastructure based on a FPGA device, used to implement a real-time video processing system, is presented. Examples of laboratory projects implemented with this infrastructure in a recent course edition are also presented.

Effective teaching of Systems Analysis, Information Systems, or Management Information Systems requires innovative approaches that go beyond the traditional classroom approaches. The panel will present ideas that have worked successfully and can possibly be utilized by other departments. The approaches center on the application of learned material into a setting that will allow the student to experience the “work place” environment. Actual projects done in a team setting is the real key to improving the students learning of the subject material in systems analysis and design courses. This approach involves the skills of working in a team, writing, and presentation. The graduate gains experience and therefore preparation for the eventual job they will be doing from their class projects. Requirements of the faculty increase somewhat in this type of approach and the panel will discuss these issues also. Robert A. Barrett, Moderator In the area of systems analysis, information systems, and management information systems, we have in past symposiums presented papers that outline the courses and the course contents. We have not dealt with some of the approaches or methodologies of student assignments and work. Our department has an advisory committee that provides input/guidance to the needs that business and industry have in regards to the individual who is working as a programmer, programmer/analyst, or systems analyst. One of the major issues that is being discussed (and has been over the past two years) is the writing, speaking and team concept abilities of the working professional. We have incorporated many of the needs in the individual classes to enhance and reinforce the learning of the student in these three areas. We put the student into teams as much as possible and require as many written reports and presentations as possible. Ernest A. Kallman At Bentley the systems design course is a capstone course for seniors only. Its objective, beyond the obvious purpose of covering the systems design function, is to help the student make the transition from textbook understanding of information systems to actual real world experience. To that end some part of the course is given over to topics such as installation organization and management. To add further realism a team project is assigned which requires the observation of an actual computer installation in some organization other than Bentley College. John F. Schrage The curriculum follows concepts noted in the major computer curricula studies from ACM on both undergraduate and graduate levels. The DPMA model curriculum also influenced the program in information systems. The programs provide training and education in both programming and systems with specializations somewhat determined by each student. The number of systems courses has expanded in the last three years. The systems concepts are presented, reinforced in intermediate courses, and culminated in a real-world project for both levels of students. The capstone situation for all students in the computer area is a real-life problem and solution. Students form into teams of three or four and find an area company which has a systems-oriented problem applicable for solution within the ten-week term. The team approach is used in most of the courses, but the independence of students in this course shows more on adapting for the job market. Team work is done in all courses after the introduction course in concepts and programming.

This paper presents the active and collaborative learning based “flipped mode” approach taken to deliver a second-year electronics systems design course in an electrical engineering degree curriculum and reports on initial results from a longitudinal study undertaken to assess the impact of this course on the development of design skills of the students in future courses. The proposed approach was aimed at maximizing time spent on acquiring hands-on design skills, while providing students with necessary theoretical insights. Various projects undertaken by the students over the past four years, namely digital FM radio, GPS tracker and temperature and humidity control system, have imparted strong design skills and improved their ability for independent learning making them more confident of undertaking complex projects in the future. Course structure, phases of teaching and their pedagogical aims and assessment methodologies, and student feedback are presented. A double-blind cohort analysis carried out to evaluate the merits of the course and its flipped mode teaching methodology indicates that the design skills acquired in this course are retained by the students in subsequent years.

This paper describes the use of ANSYS ICEPAK software in teaching a senior level capstone thermal systems design course in a Mechanical Engineering curriculum. The use of ANSYS ICEPAK software tools in the thermal design course allows our undergraduates the preparation they need to become competitive and productive in today’s private industry sector. The paradigm of learn-by-doing adopted by the college is used in the thermal design course by exposing students to the use of ANSYS ICEPAK software in order to complete a design project in the thermal design course. The senior level capstone thermal design course is a three-unit semester course. Students are broken into teams and are tasked to solve a variety of thermal-fluid, heat transfer related design problem scenarios. The student teams are tasked to design an electronic systems thermal management system using PCBS, fans, heat sinks, heat pipes, etc. in order to meet a set of pre-defined requirements. In this manner, the use of the ICEPAK projects serves to build the soft skills (report writing and technical presentation) of the students. This paper will include examples of ANSYS ICEPAK based thermal design projects and methods of assessment and illustrations of how the thermal design course addresses the Mechanical Engineering program’s ABET objectives and outcomes related to senior design capstone design courses.

Embedded computers continue to show a relentless pace of improvement with better technologies at greater levels of integration for ever broader application domains. Furthermore, access to such technology keeps on becoming easier and cheaper: design kits, design examples, data sheets and application notes all are just a mouse-click away. This, however, did not make learning and education of computer engineering techniques any easier: the basics of computer engineering remain the same, but the tower of complexity keeps growing higher. This paper highlights creativity as a fundamental quality that computer engineering students need to cultivate to master modern technology. We propose open-ended design practice as an essential tool to nurture creativity. We report on the results and lessons learned from an embedded-systems design course which we organized for the past 7 years. An important observation is that creativity has an exponential impact on the quality of design delivered by students, when quality is measured by factors such as performance, power, and cost. This means that the best students make designs that are literally orders of magnitude better than those from weaker students, even for students in the same class and the same curriculum. In this paper, we do not intend to explain the causes of this difference. Rather, we analyze what can be done with creativity in a classroom setting, and we provide examples from our past courses.

The study focused on the application of the design science research approach in the course of developing a mobile learning application, MobileEdu, for computing education in the Nigerian higher education context. MobileEdu facilitates the learning of computer science courses on mobile devices. The application supports ubiquitous, collaborative, and social aspects of learning among higher education students. Moreover, the application eases access to learning resources. The paper first describes analysis, design, and implementation activities related to the development of MobileEdu. Also, the paper deliberated on the characteristics and scope of the adherence of MobileEdu to the traits and ideas of design science research. To evaluate MobileEdu in a real-life learning setting, experiment was conducted with 142 third-year undergraduate students in a Nigerian university. Besides the learning achievement of the students using MobileEdu, the study examined the impact of MobileEdu on students' attitudes toward studying in a system analysis and design course. Experimental data were collected from pre- and post quizzes, interviews, and a questionnaire administered to students. The results of the evaluation are encouraging and showed that the MobileEdu application has a potential to improve students' learning achievements. In addition, the pedagogical experiences of students were mostly positive and students' attitudes toward the system analysis and design course through MobileEdu was better than those of students who studied the course via traditional methods. Finally, the study offered suggestions for how to implement effectively a mobile learning-supported course in computing curriculum.

The face to face learning process focuses on teacher-centered learning (the center of the learning activity is on the teacher or lecturer – the students just notice and listen the lecturer’s explanation), it is the reverse of student-centered learning (students’ active participation). The changing of learning model from teacher-centered approach into student-learning center should be conducted to increase the students’ active participation in System Design and Analysis course. The research methods to improve students’ softskills competency through studentcentred learning were (a) making lecturer team who taught System Design and Analysis course (b) reviewing the syllabus of lecturing unit (c) developing a learning model of student learning center to maximize the students’ hardskills and to stimulate their softskills (d) conducting socialization of new revised syllabus of lecturing unit that covered softskills competency, of which it had been validated by the university party (e) implementing the learning process with the student-learning center approach by using syllabus of System Design and Analysis which covered softskills competency. By implementing the model of student learning center on System Design and Analysis learning process, it was expected to be able to maximize the understanding of hardskills, technology for analysis and information system design as well as to stimulate the student’s intrapersonal and interpersonal skills (softskills), who completed the course. Keywords: softskills competency, student-centred learning, System Design and Analysis,

The capstone thermal system design course at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo has been modified to reinforce fundamental concepts in introductory fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics through a quarter-long design project. Through the use of Engineering Equation Solver (EES), the computational effort of thermal design is reduced; because EES has built-in thermophysical properties for most common solids, liquids, and gasses. As a result, the students can focus on design iterations and not on interpolation of property tables. At the end of the quarter, the students present their design to panelists who evaluate their design based on expected cost. In the past three years, the students have designed a hydronic snow-melting system, a ground source heat pump system for a small office building, a radiant heating system for a greenhouse, and a refrigeration system for an ice rink.

Learning digital systems design is a difficult skill that students of Bachelors on Computer Science, Electronic Engineering or Telecommunications have to acquire in the initial courses. The problem aggravates when the student is learning in a virtual environment with no face-to-face interaction with the instructor. In this case, simulators or intelligent tutoring systems, such as Veril UOC [1], are used in order to acquire this skill. This paper describes several improvements introduced in the instructor view of this framework Veril UOC. The new information that can be extracted of the system can improve the personalized feedback that the instructor can perform to the students, and, at the same time, the real-time information gives insights related to the course's operation.

After discussing various aspects of microcomputer education, the author suggests two courses on microcomputers: 1) an introductory course at the third year, second semester level, and 2) a Microprocessor System Design course at the fourth year, first or second semester level (Institute elective) of the five-year B.Tech. degree program at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. The author emphasizes that hands-on experience is a must for the microcomputer courses and suggests a typical laboratory setup.

At the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology Osijek on the course Digital Electronics students are learning the basics of digital electronics and VHDL with unified embedded engineering learning platform (E2LP). E2LP is designed for teaching embedded computer systems courses and system design courses, and therefore lacks basic digital I/O devices such as 16 switches, RGB LEDs, etc. This paper presents E2LP extension board developed with the aim of adding simple I/O devices to the existing E2LP system. The extension board is successfully tested, and several student examples are given.