A Review of Electronic Engineering Logbooks Throughout the Electrical Engineering Curriculum

Successful engineers must be well versed in communication skills, particularly with respect to written documentation in engineering logbooks. Such logs provide technical records that facilitate the day-to-day work of individual engineers, as well as enable continuity when projects are transferred to other engineers. Due to changes in technology and patent law, as well as the promise of simple archiving and sharing of technical work, many practicing engineers have moved away from traditional bound paper engineering notebooks and have embraced electronic documentation methods. This work details the experiences of junior electrical engineering faculty members implementing electronic engineering logbooks in their courses at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. While the current literature contains some discussion of electronic logbook usage in single courses, this paper takes a broader view by reviewing the use of electronic logbooks in courses that span all aspects of the electrical engineering undergraduate curriculum, from freshman to senior year. With this diverse set of courses, the lab assignments range from prescriptive step-by-step procedures to openended design projects. Each faculty member has been teaching for less than six years and joined academia with several years of industry experience. This work shares their experiences and observations on the advantages and disadvantages of electronic notebooks learned through implementation in their courses. Though this paper is primarily focused on electronic notebook usage in the electrical engineering program, the general observations are applicable to a broad range of engineering disciplines.