An inquiry-based acoustic signal processing lab module for introducing digital communications

We study the use of an inquiry-based lab to introduce communication systems to undergraduate electrical engineering students with prior knowledge in signals and systems. The students are not provided with an explicit list of procedures to follow, but are prompted to design and build a complete end-to-end wireless acoustic digital transceiver on their own, using inexpensive off-the-shelf components, before they have had any exposure to analog or digital radio concepts. Qualitative evaluation suggests this process of discovery, problem solving, and experimentation provides context to students when theoretical and abstract communication systems concepts are subsequently introduced in lecture. Survey results are provided which suggest this open-ended, hands-on approach is an effective teaching and learning technique for introducing communication systems, and several possible extensions of this approach are discussed.