Using Virtual Laboratories in Control Engineering Education

The twin pressures of the need for students to learn a wider variety of concepts, ideally in a self-learning mode, and the reduction in class contact time has led to the use of increased levels of information technology in control engineering education. This paper reports on, reflects on, and evaluates the author’s use of virtual laboratories (computer based laboratories available on the internet) in control engineering modules at DIT Kevin St. The use of the virtual laboratories helps in the ongoing evolution of the teaching approach from a traditional didactic lecture and laboratory course to a more learner-centred approach. The author’s experience is that student motivation, student self-learning and the enhancement of theoretical understanding and practical ability are significantly increased with the appropriate use of these laboratories, at both undergraduate and postgraduate leve

The development and evaluation of computer generated material for 43.220 Information and Communications : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Technology - Information Engineering at Massey University

The information age is upon us. Technological advances, particularly in communications, have facilitated the conveyance of accurate and updatable information in vast quantities. Educational institutions have recognized the potential of such technology to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations. Institutions that depend almost entirely on technological knowledge transfer already exist and those who are not investigating how it may best be used in their university are likely to be left behind [1]. The impact of technology on education has been the subject of much speculation [2,3,4]. What is becoming apparent is that views of education are changing from that of 'option' to 'commodity' [5]. This has lead to an increasing demand for a varied education and an even greater burden for educators, given that there has been little change in the modes of delivery [1]. Therefore, in education, it has been argued that "more must be accomplished with less. Automation through the successful application of powerful new technologies is undoubtedly one of the key enablers" [6, p. 59). The Department of Production Technology at Massey University has been investigating how current technologies may best be utilized to facilitate multicampus teaching. Massey University, with its main campus at Palmerston North, now has a new campus situated approximately 600 kilometres north at Albany where the Department of Production Technology intends to offer one of its courses in the near future. Instead of duplicating many facilities, resources and staff at Albany an alternative is to have the courses remotely delivered. This has lead to the establishment of two systems whose objectives are to increase flexibility in delivery modes without decreasing the quality of education delivered

Making Lectures Come Alive With a Data Projector

The relatively recent advent of widely available data projectors, coupled with the availability of CAD packages for control systems with graphical input/output facilities provides a mechanism for transforming lectures into shows where students can see control systems come alive. Experiences over a range of control systems courses at Dublin City University (DCU) have been positive, where a data projector has been used over a trial period of eighteen months

Making Lectures Come Alive With a Data Projector

The relatively recent advent of widely available data projectors, coupled with the availability of CAD packages for control systems with graphical input/output facilities provides a mechanism for transforming lectures into shows where students can see control systems come alive. Experiences over a range of control systems courses at Dublin City University (DCU) have been positive, where a data projector has been used over a trial period of eighteen months

Engineering handbook

2003 handbook for the faculty of Engineerin

Engineering handbook

2006 handbook for the faculty of Engineerin

Self-Contained Jupyter Notebook Labs Promote Scalable Signal Processing Education

[EN] Our upper-division course in Signals and Systems at UC Berkeley comprises primarily sophomore and junior undergraduates, and assumes only a basic background in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. We’ve introduced Jupyter Notebook Python labs to complement the theoretical material covered in more traditional lectures and homeworks. Courses at other institutions have created labs with a similar goal in mind. However, many have a hardware component or involve in-person lab sections that require teaching staff to monitor progress. This presents a significant barrier for deployment in larger courses. Virtual labs—in particular, pure software assignments using the Jupyter Notebook framework—recently emerged as a solution to this problem. Some courses use programming-only labs that lack the modularity and rich user interface of Jupyter Notebook’s cell-based design. Other labs based on the Jupyter Notebook have not yet tapped the full potential of its versatile features. Our labs (1) demonstrate real-life applications; (2) cultivate computational literacy; and (3) are structured to be self-contained. These design principles reduce overhead for teaching staff and give students relevant experience for research and industry.Carrano, D.; Chugunov, I.; Lee, J.; Ayazifar, B. (2020). Self-Contained Jupyter Notebook Labs Promote Scalable Signal Processing Education. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):1409-1416. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11308OCS1409141630-05-202

Maintaining a balance at undergraduate degree level in the teaching of automation and classical control systems

Advances in the past decade in the development and application of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Automation Systems in both high technology industrial plants and in the more mainstream manufacturing sectors, has heightened the importance of ensuring that undergraduate degree programme syllabi are designed to adequately cater for the teaching and training of students in automation. Prior to this growth in automation, delivered syllabi in Control Systems on most Electrical Engineering programmes had a theoretical rigour, reflecting the mathematical nature of the topic. A major challenge currently facing departmental lecturing staff and programme coordinators is that of the design of balanced programmes in Control and Automation Systems, to adequately reflect the importance of both streams. Owing to the applied nature of automation systems, a move towards a more Problem Based Learning teaching methodology in delivery of modules would seem the preferable way forward. At the same time, design of a balanced programme will require inclusion of sufficiently in-depth modules in classical control and process control, in order that graduates are provided with a good theoretical grounding in the subject, allied to practical hands-on experience in laboratory and project work. In summary, academic staff have the responsibility of providing the educational basis necessary to equip students with the skills required to cater for the needs of industry, while also providing a research arm for students who may wish to advance by way of postgraduate study to higher degrees