Title :
Work in progress — A program to incorporate portable labs into lecture-based electrical and computer engineering courses
Author :
Ferri, Bonnie ; Auerbach, Jill
Author_Institution :
Georgia Inst. of Technol., Atlanta, GA, USA
Abstract :
This Work in Progress paper describes the Teaching Enhancement via Small-Scale Affordable Labs (TESSAL) Center at Georgia Tech. This center is devoted to the development and implementation of distributed labs, that is, experiments that can be done by students at home or in the classroom. The objective is to introduce experiment-based active learning into typical lecture-based courses. A total of 1264 students at Georgia Tech have participated in TESSAL activities, and assessment is underway to determine its effectiveness in enhancing the learning of fundamental concepts and in inspiring the students in the topics being taught. This paper describes the best practices for implementing distributed labs as well as the infrastructure needed to support the labs: logistical plans, instructor resources, student resources, and web-based support.
Keywords :
computer aided instruction; computer science education; educational courses; electrical engineering education; Web-based support; computer engineering course; distributed labs; experiment-based active learning; instructor resource; lecture-based electrical course; logistical plan; portable labs; small-scale affordable labs; student resource; teaching enhancement; work in progress; Best practices; Buildings; Computers; Control systems; Education; Laboratories; Materials; active learning; distributed laboratories; portable experiments;
Conference_Titel :
Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2010 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Washington, DC
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-6261-2
Electronic_ISBN :
0190-5848
DOI :
10.1109/FIE.2010.5673260
