83,649 research outputs found
A course on digital electronics based on solving design-oriented exercises by means of a PBL strategy
Recently, new syllabuses are being implemented accordingly to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in Spain.
This paper describes the methodology and assessment strategy applied in the subject ââDigital Circuits and Systemsââ (CSD)
in the third semester course in the Telecommunications Engineering degree at the Castelldefels School of Telecommunications
and Aerospace Engineering (EETAC) of the Universitat Polite`cnica de Catalunya (UPC). The courseâs main learning
objective is that students be able to analyse and design simple combinational and sequential circuits by means of hardware
description languages for programmable devices and program applications using microcontrollers and C language.
Small groups of two or three students work in cooperation using PBL techniques to solve design-oriented assignments,
while instructors act more as mediators than lecturers in order to facilitate project development and knowledge acquisition.
The experience we describe corresponds to the spring term of 2011, a period in which this methodology was applied to 46
students.
This work compares statistically the influence of the studentsâ background on their academic performance in our subject.
A significant correlation has been detected between test marks and the final grade, based on continuous assessment.
Studentsâ opinions have been obtained by means of a survey at the end of the course. Although the high workload and
involvement, because this methodology requires constancy and commitment from the students, most of them have positive
opinions on the development of the subject, due to the fact that they realise that they have put into practice several
competences or cross-curricular skills, while acquiring the course content, and furthermore, most of them have passed the
course, even with higher grades than the ones from other subjects in the same semester.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Underwater Hacker Missile Wars: A Cryptography and Engineering Contest
For a recent student conference, the authors developed a day-long design
problem and competition suitable for engineering, mathematics and science
undergraduates. The competition included a cryptography problem, for which a
workshop was run during the conference. This paper describes the competition,
focusing on the cryptography problem and the workshop. Notes from the workshop
and code for the computer programs are made available via the Internet. The
results of a personal self-evaluation (PSE) are described.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, uses amsrefs.sty v2.0 and cryptologiabib.sty
(included); to appear in Cryptologi
Involving External Stakeholders in Project Courses
Problem: The involvement of external stakeholders in capstone projects and
project courses is desirable due to its potential positive effects on the
students. Capstone projects particularly profit from the inclusion of an
industrial partner to make the project relevant and help students acquire
professional skills. In addition, an increasing push towards education that is
aligned with industry and incorporates industrial partners can be observed.
However, the involvement of external stakeholders in teaching moments can
create friction and could, in the worst case, lead to frustration of all
involved parties. Contribution: We developed a model that allows analysing the
involvement of external stakeholders in university courses both in a
retrospective fashion, to gain insights from past course instances, and in a
constructive fashion, to plan the involvement of external stakeholders. Key
Concepts: The conceptual model and the accompanying guideline guide the
teachers in their analysis of stakeholder involvement. The model is comprised
of several activities (define, execute, and evaluate the collaboration). The
guideline provides questions that the teachers should answer for each of these
activities. In the constructive use, the model allows teachers to define an
action plan based on an analysis of potential stakeholders and the pedagogical
objectives. In the retrospective use, the model allows teachers to identify
issues that appeared during the project and their underlying causes. Drawing
from ideas of the reflective practitioner, the model contains an emphasis on
reflection and interpretation of the observations made by the teacher and other
groups involved in the courses. Key Lessons: Applying the model retrospectively
to a total of eight courses shows that it is possible to reveal hitherto
implicit risks and assumptions and to gain a better insight into the
interaction...Comment: Abstract shortened since arxiv.org limits length of abstracts. See
paper/pdf for full abstract. Paper is forthcoming, accepted August 2017.
Arxiv version 2 corrects misspelled author nam
Business Process Innovation using the Process Innovation Laboratory
Most organizations today are required not only to establish effective business processes but they are required to accommodate for changing business conditions at an increasing rate. Many business processes extend beyond the boundary of the enterprise into the supply chain and the information infrastructure therefore is critical. Today nearly every business relies on their Enterprise System (ES) for process integration and the future generations of enterprise systems will increasingly be driven by business process models. Consequently process modeling and improvement will become vital for business process innovation (BPI) in future organizations. There is a significant body of knowledge on various aspect of process innovation, e.g. on conceptual modeling, business processes, supply chains and enterprise systems. Still an overall comprehensive and consistent theoretical framework with guidelines for practical applications has not been identified. The aim of this paper is to establish a conceptual framework for business process innovation in the supply chain based on advanced enterprise systems. The main approach to business process innovation in this context is to create a new methodology for exploring process models and patterns of applications. The paper thus presents a new concept for business process innovation called the process innovation laboratory a.k.a. the Ă-Lab. The Ă-Lab is a comprehensive framework for BPI using advanced enterprise systems. The Ă-Lab is a collaborative workspace for experimenting with process models and an explorative approach to study integrated modeling in a controlled environment. The Ă-Lab facilitates innovation by using an integrated action learning approach to process modeling including contemporary technological, organizational and business perspectivesNo; keywords
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