2004 GENERAL EDUCATION COURSE DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION
ECE 100: A Survey of Modern Electronic Technology (new Group 3 course)
submitted by
Professors R. Bansal, F. Jain, and R. Magnusson (Head)
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
UNIT 2157
Email contact: rajeev@engr.uconn.edu
A quick look at the UConn Undergraduate Catalog to find
courses available to meet the Group 8: Science and Technology part of the
current General Education requirements reveals that, with the sole exception of
PLSC 150: Agricultural Technology and Society, the list is devoid of any
offerings that deal directly with technology. Since a “knowledge of the basic
vocabulary of science and technology is a prerequisite for informed assessments
of the physical universe and of technological developments [1],” it is vitally
important that the new courses developed for Group Three: Science and
Technology of the new General Educational System include, in addition to
various science courses, a selection of technology courses as
well. This proposal seeks support to help develop such a technology course,
specifically ECE 100: A Survey of Modern Electronic Technology, which may serve as a model
for other GenEd technology courses in the future.
ECE 100: A Survey of Modern Electronic Technology
will be a new three-credit lecture course offered at least once a year,
starting in AY 2005-2006. It will provide a non-specialist introduction to the
broad field of electronic technology, including historical roots (e.g., Faraday,
Edison), contemporary applications (e.g., plasma TVs, MP3 players), and future
directions (e.g., nanotechnology, quantum computing). The course will be
developed to meet the criteria [1] established for Group Three Science and
Technology courses. It will not have any prerequisites and will be targeted
primarily at non-engineering majors, although it may also be taken as an
elective by engineering freshmen seeking an early introduction to the field of
electronic technology. The course will be taught by a team of ECE faculty
(initially Bansal, Jain, and Magnusson) with guest lectures as appropriate.
1. The course will introduce students (at a non-specialist level) to a broad, coherent body of knowledge and contemporary engineering methods from the field of electronic technology to demonstrate the interplay of experimental data and engineering principles in the development and application of technical knowledge.
2. The course will introduce students to unresolved questions in the area of electronic technology (such as potential health hazards of cell phones) and discuss how progress might be made in answering these questions.
3. The course will promote a commitment to lifelong learning about contemporary technology and its impact upon the human society and the environment, since such knowledge is increasingly important to the people for making informed choices.
4. Where appropriate, the course will include in-class demonstrations to illustrate principles and applications of electronic technology.
5. In keeping with other courses offered by the ECE department, ECE 100 will present the students with a list of instructional objectives and use assessment techniques, including quizzes and surveys, to measure the achievement of those objectives. In addition, it is expected that the services of the Institute for Teaching & Learning (ITL) will be utilized in evaluating the success of the course.
6. An interdisciplinary team including the PIs of this proposal recently received a two-year $100K grant from NSF to promote the transfer of research knowledgebase in the area of nanotechnology to undergraduate students. The proposed course ECE 100 will play a synergistic role in this endeavor since it will include a module on this emerging electronic technology area.
Project Tasks and Budget
With the help of the support requested in this proposal, the PIs will initially investigate similar offerings at other universities (e.g., UC-Santa Cruz [2]), available teaching resources, for example [3], and then develop a course syllabus. This will be followed by the development of lecture modules and applicable demonstrations. It is expected that the funds requested in this proposal will pay in part the development cost (supplies, technician’s time) of these demonstrations.
References
[1] University of Connecticut General Education Guidelines for Group Three courses (as approved by the University Senate on May 12, 2003,
including motions passed by the Senate on 11/10/03 and 12/8/03) available
at
http://senate.uconn.edu/geocguidelines.htm
[2] The syllabus for a similar course at UC-Santa Cruz is available at
http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/classes/ee080t/Spring03/
[3] Dick White and Roger Doering, Electrical Engineering Uncovered (2nd edition), Prentice Hall.
Statement from the Department Head (Co-PI)
I have reviewed the proposal for ECE 100. It is very timely and I agree completely with its premise.