BYOE: Utilizing the EET Communication Simulator

It can be challenging to effectively teach a first course in communication systems to electrical engineering technology (EET) undergraduates. One reason for the difficulty is that complex mathematical and signal-processing concepts must be introduced without the mathematical rigor expected in a traditional electrical engineering course. To make life easier for both the instructor and student, the EET Communication Simulator was developed. This is a software simulator that can run via any of the modern web browsers. The primary hypothesis of the research and development project was that students would learn communication principles better if they were presented with visual representations of the complex mathematical functions and corresponding signal representations. There were two objectives of the project: (i) create a software communication systems simulator that an instructor can utilize in a pedagogically effective manner, and ii) create a user-friendly learning tool for communication systems students. Several groups of students worked to improve the simulator over a period of two years. The other students, who were not directly involved in the project, participated in the testing and evaluation of the simulator. Their feedbacks were obtained through a survey. The results of the survey, shedding light on students’ attitudes and perception with regards to the simulator, are presented in this paper. A live demonstration of the software simulator will be presented at the conference. Attendees will be given an opportunity to ‘test drive’ the simulator. Introduction There are several approaches for the instruction of an introductory course in telecommunication systems. In a typical electrical engineering program a lot of attention is placed on analytical models and the underlying mathematics involved. This approach assumes that the student has sufficient mathematically capability and or background to fully grasp the models and equations discussed in class. Software such as MATLAB and Simulink are sometimes utilized in lectures to make it more appealing through visual representations of communication signals and systems. Nevertheless, students may struggle to understand some of the abstract concepts. This is especially true in the electrical engineering technology classroom where the focus is more on a ‘hands on’ approach with less mathematical rigor. In such a scenario as this, the question was asked, “how can students be engaged in the classroom in a way that enhances their learning of telecommunications fundamentals?” A novel approach was presented as a response to the preceding question. The idea was to allow the students to design an educational simulator for themselves that facilitate the following learning paths: (i) an instructor-led tool that could visually demonstrate the various mathematical models introduced in the classroom and ii) a student-centered tool that one could use at his/her own pace to reinforce or learn the theoretical concepts presented in the classroom. The basic premise of the project was that the students would learn better through visual representation of the complex mathematical equations that model various stages of signal processing in telecommunication systems. It was hypothesize that if students are able to see the waveforms that are represented by the equations and algorithms, and are able to interact with the models by changing various parameters and instantly seeing the corresponding system change, then they may appreciate the underlying mathematics and learn the concepts easier and better. Also, allowing the students to design the tool for the instructor encourage them to determine what aspects of the course they had difficulty learning, and how they believed this could be remedied. Popular Software Tools used in Introductory Telecommunications Systems Courses In this section, some of the most popular software tools that are used in telecommunication courses are introduced. Afterwards, a case is made as to why it was necessary to develop a customize telecommunications simulator. Telecommunication is a vast discipline. To simplify our presentation we have grouped the software tools in 3 categories: (i) signal processing & system modeling software tools, (ii) signal transmission software tools, and (iii) data communication and networking software tools. To model signal processing and system modeling MATLAB and Simulink are frequently used. MATLAB is a powerful high level programming language particularly suited for technical computation. The software includes computation, plotting, viewing and programming in a userfriendly environment. Simulink has an interactive environment that facilitates the modeling and simulation of dynamic systems. The software allows the user to build entire systems by using standard built-in blocks or customized blocks (sub-system). Together, MATLAB and Simulink provide powerful integrated environment for simulation, modeling and prototyping. For signal transmission simulation, Microwave Office, a frequency domain simulator, is used extensively in academia and industry. Features include electromagnetic simulation, physical layout, and noise analysis. Riverbed Modeler, formerly OPNET Modeler, offers a virtual environment for data communication and networking. The software has an extensive library with network devices that mimic real systems. In addition to the aforementioned software tools, other simulators have been developed and utilized by academics. Many of these were developed using the aforementioned commercial tools as the platform. Kavianpour demonstrated the use of LabVIEW for teaching several engineering courses in signal processing, digital circuits, microprocessors, communications, and programming language. Andreatos and Zagorianos developed a MATLAB graphical user interface (GUI) application for teaching automatic control systems. This tool allows the student to experiment with different sets of parameters to improve their learning of a typical control systems of an aircraft. Venkatalakshmi et al. discussed the use of MATLAB and Advanced Design System (ADS) tools for teaching the Fourier transform algorithm to communication engineering students. However, none of these tools developed specifically addressed an introductory course in Telecommunication. Furthermore, they did not address our specific needs nor design objectives.