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Incorporating LabView(R) in Junior Electrical Engineering Labs

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Conference

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Vancouver, BC

Publication Date

June 26, 2011

Start Date

June 26, 2011

End Date

June 29, 2011

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education

Tagged Division

Electrical and Computer

Page Count

14

Page Numbers

22.847.1 - 22.847.14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--18128

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/18128

Download Count

422

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Paper Authors

biography

Bill Yang Western Carolina University

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Dr. Yang is currently Assistant Professor at Western Carolina University. He holds Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University. Prior joining WCU he has worked more than seven years at Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technology, Inc. as Member of Technical Staff and Ciena Corp. as Principal Engineer, doing research in photonic networks and optoelectronics. His teaching interest focuses on the project-based learning (PBL) model of engineering education with self-directed learner as enhanced educational outcome. His research area focuses on optoelectronics, semiconductor lasers, and metamaterials.

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biography

Robert D. Adams Western Carolina University

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Robert Adams is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Electrical Engineering at Western Carolina University. His research interests include digital signal processing, bioelectromagnetics, and engineering education. Dr. Adams is a senior member of IEEE and a member of ASEE.

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biography

Aaron K. Ball Western Carolina University

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Dr. Aaron K. Ball is a full Professor in the Engineering and Technology Department at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. He holds a B.S. and an M.S. from Appalachian State University, and earned his doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His areas of interest include automation, fluid power, advanced machining, prototyping systems, and applied research.

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Abstract

Incorporating LabView® in Junior Electrical Engineering Labs  LabView® is a popular instrument control and automation software tool that is widely used in industry.  Sufficient LabView® programming skills greatly improve engineers’ productivity, and these skills are in high demand.  On the other hand, it is usually a common weakness in Electrical Engineering (EE) as well as in general engineering programs that the students  are lacking in the application of appropriate software to solve engineering problems. As a part of the continuous curriculum improvement strategy, we are implementing a LabView® programming thread in the EE curriculum to enhance the students’ real‐world ready and workplace applicable skills.  Building upon the successful incorporation of LabView® programming into engineering technology programs within the same department, this paper will discuss the general plan of the implementation of the LabView® programming thread in the EE program and outline in detail the designed LabView® programming activities in junior EE Labs.  The LabView® series sessions in junior EE Labs starts with simple activities of instrument communications and file manipulation for data collection,  progresses into more systematical activities of instrument control and data trace collection for specific instruments (such as a digital oscilloscope), and gradually integrates into   other Lab sessions. Student feedback in the form of standard Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI) as well as Small Group Analysis (SGA) focused on the learning experience enhancement will be used as the formal assessment of the incorporation of LabView® programming activities within the EE curriculum.  The results of these assessment activities will be reported.  This paper will emphasize the curriculum integration strategies, educational methodology and merit of this approach.  

Yang, B., & Adams, R. D., & Ball, A. K. (2011, June), Incorporating LabView(R) in Junior Electrical Engineering Labs Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--18128

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