Teaching differently: The digital signal processing of multimedia content through the use of liberal arts

Generally, the curriculum design for undergraduate students enrolled in digital signal processing (DSP)-related engineering programs covers hard topics from specific disciplines, namely, mathematics, digital electronics, or programming. Typically, these topics are very demanding from the point of view of both students and teachers due to the inherent complexity of the mathematical formulations. However, improvements to the effectiveness of teaching can be achieved through a multisensorial approach supported by the liberal arts. By including the development of art and literacy skills in the curriculum design, the fundamentals of DSP topics may be taught from a qualitative perspective, compared to the solely analytical standpoint taken by traditional curricula. We postulate that this approach increases both the comprehension and memorization of abstract concepts by stimulating students' creativity and curiosity. In this article, we elaborate upon a methodology that incorporates liberal arts concepts into the teaching of signal processing techniques. We also illustrate the application of this methodology through specific classroom activities related to the digital processing of multimedia contents in undergraduate academic programmes. With this proposal, we also aim to lessen the perceived difficulty of the topic, stimulate critical thinking, and establish a framework within which nonengineering departments may contribute to the teaching of engineering subjects.This research is part of the 17th Call to Support Experiences on Innovative Teaching at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Spain, in 2019-2020 and partially funded by the Spanish Government-MinECo project TEC2017-84395-P. This project gathered members from UC3M, the Havana University of Technology, José Antonio Echeverría, Cuba, and Technische Universität Berlin, Germany

A Software Radio Challenge Accelerating Education and Innovation in Wireless Communications

This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents our methodology and tools for introducing competition in the electrical engineering curriculum to accelerate education and innovation in wireless communications. Software radio or software-defined radio (SDR) enables wireless technology, systems and standards education where the student acts as the radio developer or engineer. This is still a huge endeavor because of the complexity of current wireless systems and the diverse student backgrounds. We suggest creating a competition among student teams to potentiate creativity while leveraging the SDR development methodology and open-source tools to facilitate cooperation. The proposed student challenge follows the European UEFA Champions League format, which includes a qualification phase followed by the elimination round or playoffs. The students are tasked to build an SDR transmitter and receiver following the guidelines of the long-term evolution standard. The metric is system performance. After completing this course, the students will be able to (1) analyze alternative radio design options and argue about their benefits and drawbacks and (2) contribute to the evolution of wireless standards. We discuss our experiences and lessons learned with particular focus on the suitability of the proposed teaching and evaluation methodology and conclude that competition in the electrical engineering classroom can spur innovation.Comment: Frontiers in Education 2018 (FIE 2018

Planar Refrains

My practice explores phenomenal poetic truths that exist in fissures between the sensual and physical qualities of material constructs. Magnifying this confounding interspace, my work activates specific instruments within mutable, relational systems of installation, movement, and documentation. The tools I fabricate function within variable orientations and are implemented as both physical barriers and thresholds into alternate, virtual domains. Intersecting fragments of sound and moving image build a nexus of superimposed spatialities, while material constructions are enveloped in ephemeral intensities. Within this compounded environment, both mind and body are charged as active sites through which durational, contemplative experiences can pass. Reverberation, the ghostly refrain of a sound calling back to our ears from a distant plane, can intensify our emotional experience of place. My project Planar Refrains utilizes four electro-mechanical reverb plates, analog audio filters designed to simulate expansive acoustic arenas. Historically these devices have provided emotive voicings to popular studio recordings, dislocating the performer from the commercial studio and into a simulated reverberant territory of mythic proportions. The material resonance of steel is used to filter a recorded signal, shaping the sound of a human performance into something more transformative, a sound embodying otherworldly dynamics. In subverting the designed utility of reverb plates, I am exploring their value as active surfaces extending across different spatial realities. The background of ephemeral sonic residue is collapsed into the foreground, a filter becomes sculpture, and this sculpture becomes an instrument in an evolving soundscape

Getting to the bottom of L2 listening instruction: Making a case for bottom-up activities

This paper argues for the incorporation of bottom-up activities for English as a foreign language (EFL) listening. It discusses theoretical concepts and pedagogic options for addressing bottom-up aural processing in the EFL classroom as well as how and why teachers may wish to include such activities in lessons. This discussion is augmented by a small-scale classroom-based research project that investigated six activities targeting learners’ bottom-up listening abilities. Learners studying at the lower-intermediate level of a compulsory EFL university course were divided into a treatment group (n = 21) and a contrast group (n = 32). Each group listened to the same audio material and completed listening activities from an assigned textbook. The treatment group also engaged in a set of six bottom-up listening activities using the same material. This quasi-experimental study used dictation and listening proficiency tests before and after the course. Between-group comparisons of t-test results of dictation and listening proficiency tests indicated that improvements for the treatment group were probably due to the BU intervention. In addition, results from a posttreatment survey suggested that learners value explicit bottom-up listening instruction

Using IR Cameras Beyond Outreach: Motivational Projects for Engineering Students

Affordable infrared (IR) cameras provide a unique opportunity to motivate and enhance the education of engineering students. We used both IR and visible images from a FLIR E60 camera as an instructional vehicle in a digital image processing course, where students came from several engineering majors. These IR and visible images were used as the basis for an open-ended final project in the course. Assessment via both pre- and post-project questionnaires showed the project was a positive experience for the students, and helped motivate them to learn the material. This paper discusses the course, the camera, the project, and how effective it was to add this project to the course

Audio Processing and Loudness Estimation Algorithms with iOS Simulations

abstract: The processing power and storage capacity of portable devices have improved considerably over the past decade. This has motivated the implementation of sophisticated audio and other signal processing algorithms on such mobile devices. Of particular interest in this thesis is audio/speech processing based on perceptual criteria. Specifically, estimation of parameters from human auditory models, such as auditory patterns and loudness, involves computationally intensive operations which can strain device resources. Hence, strategies for implementing computationally efficient human auditory models for loudness estimation have been studied in this thesis. Existing algorithms for reducing computations in auditory pattern and loudness estimation have been examined and improved algorithms have been proposed to overcome limitations of these methods. In addition, real-time applications such as perceptual loudness estimation and loudness equalization using auditory models have also been implemented. A software implementation of loudness estimation on iOS devices is also reported in this thesis. In addition to the loudness estimation algorithms and software, in this thesis project we also created new illustrations of speech and audio processing concepts for research and education. As a result, a new suite of speech/audio DSP functions was developed and integrated as part of the award-winning educational iOS App 'iJDSP." These functions are described in detail in this thesis. Several enhancements in the architecture of the application have also been introduced for providing the supporting framework for speech/audio processing. Frame-by-frame processing and visualization functionalities have been developed to facilitate speech/audio processing. In addition, facilities for easy sound recording, processing and audio rendering have also been developed to provide students, practitioners and researchers with an enriched DSP simulation tool. Simulations and assessments have been also developed for use in classes and training of practitioners and students.Dissertation/ThesisM.S. Electrical Engineering 201

Teaching and Learning Music Technologically

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, multimedia technology has transformed all educational paradigms. In this mixed-methods study, the researcher shows the effects of inspiring instructional technologies on assimilating musical knowledge and developing performance concepts. Thus, assisted- technology learning is the foundation of inspiration to induce music performance and theory, hardening self-esteem as the core subject of this study. The researcher measures time and skills gathered over two years by a group of high school music students, assessing them with two variables: first, traditional conservatory instruction, and second, the MusicLab method. In addition, the researcher quantifies how technological tools intervene in fundamental musical knowledge and development in a greater or lesser time and what capacities are established more than others at the same phase with the two variables

Authentic student inquiry: the mismatch between the intended curriculum and the student-experienced curriculum

As a means of achieving scientific literacy goals in society, the last two decades have witnessed international science curriculum redevelopment that increasingly advocates a 'new look' inquiry-based approach to learning. This paper reports on the nature of the student-experienced curriculum where secondary school students are learning under a national curriculum that is intent on promoting students' knowledge and capabilities in authentic scientific inquiry, that is, inquiry that properly reflects that practiced by members of scientific communities. Using a multiple case study approach, this study found that layers of curriculum interpretation from several 'sites of influence' both outside and inside of the schools have a strong bearing on the curriculum enacted by teachers and actually experienced by the students, and runs counter to the aims of the national curriculum policy. Over-emphasis on fair testing limits students' exposure to the full range of methods that scientists use in practice, and standards-based assessment using planning templates, exemplar assessment schedules and restricted opportunities for full investigations in different contexts tends to reduce student learning about experimental design to an exercise in 'following the rules'. These classroom realities have implications for students' understanding of the nature of authentic scientific inquiry and support claims that school science is still far removed from real science

CuDAS: An interactive curriculum combining pedagogic composition with interactive software for the teaching of music technology

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Within the framework of education of Music Technology for 16-18 year olds there exists a lack of thorough teaching and learning resources sufficient for a broad understanding of the basics of audio and electronic synthesis. This PhD submission outlines the role of the composer in the classroom in addressing this fundamental issue through the development of a curriculum containing pedagogic composition and interactive software. There will be a discussion of the principles of pedagogic methodologies developed by various composers and of the current model of learning provided in Music Technology Alevel. The programming tools used to develop the software are investigated, as well as an exploration into the current learning psychology that informed the curriculum development. This submission consists of a written thesis that accompanies a set of compositions and a multimedia DVD, which includes the software for the CuDAS curriculum. Within this software is contained a presentation of a series of interactive tutorials alongside compositions in the form of scores, recordings and interactive exercises. There is also include written supporting documentation and sound files of techniques and recordings from contrasting genres of music history