LDAPS: An Innovative Solution for a Low-Cost, Exciting Laboratory Class in Engineering

这个项目的目标是为工科学生和文科专业的学生开发一门实验室实验课程。课程包括两门课程：面向文科学生(主要是从事教师培训计划的入职前教师)和一年级工程师的入门课程，以及必修的初级机械工程课程。在入门课程中，学生们专注于简单的实验技术，学习如何将计算机连接到实验中，以及如何对数据进行简单的统计分析。高级课程的学生学习数据采集系统背后的电子技术，学习更深入的信号处理，并努力提高口头和书面技能。该课程基于LDAPS，或LegoTM数据采集和原型系统，这是一种最初为K-6科学教育开发的教学技术。LDAP系统使用LegoTM构建块和LabVIEWTM计算机界面，为学生设计、构建、测量和执行他们自己的实验提供工具。LegoTM模块允许学生自由设计实验装置，LabVIEWTM提供有效询问数据所需的信号处理自由。例如，学生们通过建造一台乐高TM灰度扫描仪学习了先进的数字过滤技术，并通过建造一辆试图绕过障碍物的汽车进行了主动控制。这一教学技术在一项试点研究中得到了成功的实施，学生的评价很好。

The goal of this project is to develop a curriculum for engineering students and liberal arts majors on laboratory experimentation. The curriculum spans two courses: an introductory class geared for liberal arts students (mainly pre-service teachers engaged in teacher preparation programs) and first-year engineers, and a required junior-level mechanical engineering course. In the introductory course, students concentrate on simple experimentation techniques, learning how to interface a computer to an experiment and how to do simple statistical analysis of the data. Students in the upper-level course learn the electronics behind the data acquisition systems, learn more in-depth signal processing, and work on oral and written skills. The curriculum is based on the LDAPS, or LegoTM Data Acquisition and Prototyping System, which is a pedagogical technique originally developed for K-6 science education. The LDAP System uses LegoTM building blocks and a LabVIEWTM computer interface to provide the tools for students to design, build, instrument, and execute their own experiments. The LegoTM blocks give the student the freedom in designing the experimental setup and LabVIEWTM gives the signal processing freedom needed to effectively interrogate the data. For example, students learned advanced digital filtering techniques by building a LegoTM gray-scale scanner and active control through building a car which tries to drive around obstacles. This pedagogical technique was successfully implemented in a pilot study, with excellent student reviews.