Low Cost Self Paced Laboratory Workstations for Teaching Electronics

该计划的主要目标是以最低的成本，通过在实验室教学中引入以问题为基础的学习方法来加强电子工程技术课程，同时在实验室课程安排上为学生提供迫切需要的灵活性。为了实现这一目标，该计划将开发低成本、自定进度的实验室工作站来教授电子学。在HP VEE测试开发平台的控制下，每个工作站将由一台PC、一块数据采集插板和一块函数发生器插板组成。将开发虚拟仪器来模拟本科电子实验室中的典型测试设备。工作站的用户界面将提供提示和帮助图标，以指导学生在实验室课程期间，但学生必须设计自己的测试策略和方法。非专业学生和准备进行K-12教学的学生将有机会在用户友好和不具威胁性的环境中以自己的速度获得执行电子电路实际测试的经验。该项目以西班牙裔少数族裔为目标，但其潜在好处的范围要广得多。全国各地的教育机构可能会发现开发的概念有多种用途：作为需要实验室课程的远程学习课程的可行替代方案，作为电子或电气工程课程的低成本测试平台，作为吸引更多学生学习电子或电气工程的工具，作为降低电子实验室的运营成本的替代方案，作为自定进度的实验室课程的替代方案，作为以最低成本向未来的K-2教师提供电子实验室体验的替代方案。

The main objective of the program is to achieve, at a minimum cost, the strengthening of the Electronics Engineering Technology curriculum by introducing a problem based learning approach to laboratory instruction and simultaneously provide the student body a much needed flexibility in their laboratory session schedules. To achieve this objective the program will develop low cost self paced laboratory workstations to teach electronics. Each workstation will consist of a PC, a data acquisition plug-in board, and a function generator plug-in board under the control of the HP VEE test development platform. Virtual instruments will be developed to emulate the typical test equipment in an undergraduate electronics laboratory. The workstations' user interface will provide HINT and HELP icons to guide the students during their laboratory sessions, but students will have to design their own test strategy and methodology. Non major students and students preparing for K-12 teaching will have the opportunity to acquire, at their own pace, in a user friendly and non threatening environment, experience performing actual testing of electronics circuits. The project targets Hispanic minorities, but its potential benefits have a much wider scope. Educational institutions across the nation may find multiple applications to the developed concept: as a viable alternative to distance learning courses which require laboratory sessions, as a low cost test platform for electronics or electrical engineering programs, as an instrument to attract more students to electronics or electrical engineering, as an alternative to reduce the operational costs of electronics laboratories, as an alternative to self paced laboratory sessions, and as an alternative to provide at a minimum cost electronics laboratory experience to future K-2 teachers.