AC 2011-657: SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS, DATA COMMUNICA- TIONS, AND SIMULATION

Abstract Many undergraduate programs in electrical and computer engineering require a course in linear systems, signal processing, or communications. While students recognize the importance of developing a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts, they find the content of these courses mathematical and harder to grasp. Without compromising the rigor of the required concepts, we strived to make the course fun, with application based, hands-on laboratory projects. We describe two third-year level laboratory projects used in a linear systems and signal processing course. These projects can be used in communication, computer networks, and information systems courses. One project addresses topics in satellite communications and the other covers data communications. Introduction Years of experience by many educators coalesce around the widely-held belief that laboratories and hands-on learning are critical to understanding and long term retention of fundamental concepts in engineering. Taslidere, Cohen, and Reisman conclude that “undergraduate and graduate students want more hands-on demos that link theory to real applications.”