eDSP - a DSP-centric reusable learning object environment

The University of Florida (UF) offers a traditional curriculum having a strong signal processing presence. What is being observed is that the digital signal processing (DSP) students continue to study the same basic core material, but at different levels of the curriculum. What differentiates the treatment of material at one level from another is: the order of presentation; level of mathematical challenge and rigor; amount of supplemental material added; and level of technology exposure. The University of Florida is exploring the use of reusable learning objects (RLO), objects that can be aggregated to build multiple lessons. Instead of designing complete courses, curriculum designers can use RLOs to configure content for general or course specific use over a range of curriculum levels. In this paper, the preliminary experience gained by using this new paradigm is reported. The outcome is called eDSP, a concept that supports a multi-level broad signal processing curriculum as well as defining the next generation of academic ebooks.