by Louise Peters
The current situation the world is experiencing has forced campuses across the globe to shut down. Students have likewise been forced to take a completely remote approach to their education, and in a field like EE where practical learning is of the utmost importance, they need all the help they can get. But as budding engineers, they are trained to think out of the box and make things work with the resources available to them. Thankfully, many platforms have been developed to help with this. So here is a quick roundup of tools and websites that EE students will find useful at this time:
Zoom
Many classes have resorted to using the video-conferencing application Zoom to facilitate learning. According to some professors, resorting to this setup improved large lecture class experiences, given that the most basic feature of the program is recording the whole event. This allows students to attend and access lectures whenever they want, and as often as they wish. What’s more, this method also allows screen sharing between students and teachers, as well as to break the class into breakout groups so students can work together to solve small programming challenges.
Coursera
A globally popular learning platform, Coursera has made it onto a list of the ten best distance learning tools by HP due to its wide range of 100% online courses, which include degree courses like a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as a variety of certificate courses. Students who purchase a course can stream on-demand video lectures straight from top instructors at their own pace and in their own time. This way, they can supplement their learning even outside of their remote classes.
VirtualBench All-in-One Instrument
Students at the University of Virginia made modifications to the VirtualBench All-in-One Instrument. This tool combines an oscilloscope with other common instruments into a single device that connects to a PC or iPad, to continue working on experiments. They also started doing the same activities they did in class at home using a small USB-powered device called the Analog Discovery 2, which lets students build and test circuits. This just goes to show that the current situation shouldn’t be a deterrent to learning as long as you have the right tools.
Take-home Kits
Professors at Harvard put together take-home kits for their students, which contain resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits, Arduino microcontrollers, wire cutters, and a multimeter that can be used to measure electronic signals. During classes conducted via Zoom, students then use these tools to build and test electronic circuits, including heart rate monitors, under the supervision of faculty and teaching fellows. Meanwhile, other university staff found a device that is comprised of an oscilloscope, function generator, and digital logic analyzer. This all-in-one-package can easily connect to a computer either via USB or Wi-Fi. It has proven to be useful considering that students currently can’t put their hands on bench-top tools they’d typically have in a lab.
The possibilities for virtual education are endless. Beyond video conferencing and using Wi-Fi-powered devices, virtual reality (VR) can also be utilized. As discussed by Steve Glennon in a previous post, VR can prove to be useful even outside the spheres of media, games, and social. Soon, there may be classrooms where virtual environments that allow educators and students to interact in real-time would be the norm.