Moving The C Language Course Into The Real World

The Kansas State University-Salina Engineering Technology Department offers a C programming course for non-Computer Science Technology majors. The course is designed to teach the C language syntax, structured programming design and implementation, and to link the language to applications within the students’ areas of specialization. In the Fall 2000 semester, a local manufacturer requested help in upgrading an existing microprocessor-based control application. The industry partner agreed to allow the C programming class to write the application as a class project. This project required the students to incorporate interrupts, timing, signal monitoring, real-time calculations, and extensive interfacing to input and output devices. This paper focuses on the unique interaction between students and industry and the benefits that this real-world process brought into the course and into the academic program.