Project based learning experience in VHDL digital electronic circuit design

Abstract

In this paper we present our experience in teaching digital electronic circuit and system design with FPGAs using VHDL. The course follows a Project Based Learning methodology, in which the students learn how to design digital circuits and systems in a practical way. During the course, students design electronic circuits of incremental complexity. At the end of the course they are capable of implementing relatively complex projects, such as image processing systems and videogames.

Active learning via LEGO MINDSTORMS in Systems Engineering education

“…Examples can be found all the way from first year undergraduate programs to graduate education, and in engineering related fields, ranging from computer science and electronics to mechanical and civil engineering [2,10,11,12]. The principles of active learning and problem-based teaching fits well in Systems Engineering education, with its objective of getting students to investigate and experiment with their field.…”

“…Shimazu et al describe a hands-on Systems Engineering course in a graduate school, in which students go through requirement analysis, systems design and physical realization phases in order to construct a system [12]. In the same way as the work presented in this paper, the motivation for the course is to improve Systems Engineering education; however a slightly different approach is used.…”

A project-based embedded systems design course using a reconfigurable SoC platform

“…The National Chip Implementation Center (Hsinchu, Taiwan) offers three short courses on embedded systems using different hardware platforms targeted for different application areas [7]. The Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain) provides an in-depth embedded systems course for students near the end of their undergraduate education that covers topics relating to analog electronics, digital electronics, and computer fundamentals [8].…”

Actas de simposio-taller Estrategias y herramientas para el aprendizaje y la evaluación (Jenui 2013)

“…Además de los trabajos de Shewhart y Deming, son muy interesantes las propuestas desarrolladas por Myron Tribus [8], en los que aplica los principios de calidad industrial derivados del ciclo de Deming, a la calidad en educación. Nuestro trabajo está fuertemente influido por estos estudios.…”

“…Al igual que en ella se utiliza un enfoque de Programación Imperativa con el Pascal como lenguaje. Aunque la utilización de este enfoque es un tema ampliamente debatido [5,8], la experiencia docente en asignaturas similares de planes de estudios ya extinguidos siguen apoyando la idea de posponer al segundo año la enseñanza del paradigma de orientación a objetos.…”