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Enhancing students' perception of single‐sideband suppressed‐carrier principles by using cooperative and computer‐based learning
Author(s) -
Swart Arthur James
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
computer applications in engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.478
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1099-0542
pISSN - 1061-3773
DOI - 10.1002/cae.20399
Subject(s) - compatible sideband transmission , sideband , grasp , syllabus , computer science , amplitude modulation , modulation (music) , perception , multimedia , electronic engineering , telecommunications , radio frequency , frequency modulation , mathematics education , engineering , software engineering , psychology , acoustics , physics , neuroscience
Single‐sideband systems are the preferred modulation format in analogue voice transmission for two‐way radio communications on the high‐frequency portion of the radio spectrum. Recent literature has presented methods of conveying other modulation formats (such as frequency and amplitude modulation) to engineering students by means of computer‐based learning. However, little has been documented on assisting senior engineering students to grasp fundamental communication principles related to single‐sideband suppressed‐carrier (SSB‐SC) systems, which include suppressed‐carrier generation and sideband filtering. This article presents such a method, which is based on cooperative and computer‐based learning. It presents the structure of a practical assignment (PA) designed to assist students to grasp SSB‐SC principles in a well‐equipped laboratory at a university of technology. The throughput rate of this PA is contrasted to the theoretical assessment of this section of the syllabus in a module termed radio engineering III. Throughput rate is defined as the number of students who are enrolled for a module in Higher Education compared to the number of students who successfully complete that same module within a given semester, expressed as a percentage. The theoretical assessment involves a written test on the fundamental principles of single‐sideband systems. A high success rate has been maintained for the past 7 years of instruction. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 20: 332–338, 2012