Computing experience in the first EE circuits course

The authors propose an approach to providing useful computer experience for students in an introductory EE (electrical engineering) circuits course by using SPICE and more specialized programs in a complementary manner. This approach places primary emphasis on deriving circuit models and solving them analytically and/or by an appropriate computer program. An example is presented to illustrate some benefits of using both types of computer programs. The authors favor using SPICE as a backup program to confirm solutions obtained from circuit models by other means, and to study the effects of component changes on circuit response