Integration of Graphical Programming into the First-Year Engineering ExperienceKEEN Regional Conference on the Entrepreneurially-Minded First-Year

Experience30-March-2012: Kettering University

Gregory Bucks

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Outline

Motivation Background Spring 2009, Fall 2009 Experience Fall 2011 Experience Reactions Conclusions

Motivation

Increasing need for computing skills in both professional and personal life

Increasing use of computers/electronics as part of the product

Learning to program is difficult Most students do not develop a grasp of

the fundamental concepts during introductory courses

What ways can we help students to learn programming concepts/skills?

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Motivation

Decision made to attempt to use graphical programming languages (NI LabVIEW) to augment student learning of programming and engineering design

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Background: First-Year Engineering at Purdue

SPRING 2009

1 course

“Engineering Problem Solving and Computer Tools” Teaming User-centered and

sustainable design Engineering problem

solving Programming with

MATLAB

FALL 2009, 2011

2 course sequence

“Ideas to Innovation I” Teaming User-Centered and

sustainable design Engineering disciplines

“Ideas to Innovation II” Engineering problem

solving Programming with

MATLAB

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Course Structure:

Two 120 minute studio classes per week Integrate lectures and activities Students in teams of four

Weekly homework assignments

Projects throughout the semester Conceptual Report driven No implementation

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Course Structure: Spring 2009 Modifications – 2 sections:

Inclusion of LabVIEW as an “executable flowchart” along with learning MATLAB

Homework and lab activities on LabVIEW Use of LabVIEW on an end-of-semester

group project

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Course Structure: Fall 2009 Modifications – 2 sections:

LabVIEW integrated as a tool to help prepare for spring semester MATLAB experience and as a venue for design experience

Homework and lab activities in LabVIEW Two LabVIEW group projects

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Main Project: Spring/Fall 2009 Students tasked with developing a

program in LabVIEW to teach 7th grade students a concept from the Indiana State science/math curriculum

Presented programs to local 7th grade class

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Main Project:Spring/Fall 2009 Schedule: 4 weeks

Proposal Memo describing user and chosen concept and paper prototype of how to convey concept

Paper proposal showing user interface Beta program and draft instructions Final program for use by 7th graders and

set of instructions for how to use the program

Projects assessed by instructional staff, feedback from 7th graders

Memo Schedule

Main Project: Examples of Student Work Examples of 7th Grade Projects Can download copy of full LabVIEW

student programs at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/EPICS/ENGR195_Project/Fall2009_ENGR195

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Course Structure: Fall 2011 Modifications – 2 sections:

LabVIEW and NI MyDAQ system integrated as a tool to help prepare for spring semester MATLAB experience and as a venue for design experience

Homework and lab activities with LabVIEW/MyDAQ

One LabVIEW/MyDAQ group project

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MyDAQ Example:

Generate Acquire

NI MyDAQ System

Small, portable USB-powered data acquisition device

Can be used on it’s own or easily integrates with LabVIEW

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Main Project:Fall 2011 Design a hardware and software system

that demonstrates your mastery of LabVIEW and the MyDAQ and is: Fun and challenging Exemplifies what an engineer does Engages all team members Integrates LabVIEW and MyDAQ

Project assessed by instructional staff, NI representatives, ECE senior design instructors

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Main Project:Fall 2011 Schedule: 5 weeks

Research/brainstorming Draft of project ideas, peer/instructor

feedback Idea descriptions/decision matrix, final

selected idea and initial parts list Complete parts list, project

plan/timeline, division of labor Executive summary Presentation and demonstration

Main Project: ExamplesMotivational Mirror

Main Project: Examples Electronic Twister Board

Main Project: Examples Mini Piano

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Main Project: Other Examples of Student Work

Guitar tuning programs that used microphones to measure the sound and provides feedback if the note is flat or sharp through colored LED’s

Homemade Dance-Dance-Revolution that used a LabVIEW front panel with moving elements and a dance pad that used pressure sensors

Holiday light display that powered LED’s which were synced to music Study monitoring system that used an image capture system to

determine if the subject is at the study area and an accelerometer on the writing instrument to determine if they are writing

Residence hall room security system that employed a card swipe system to identify a person with their university ID and provide access to items in the room such as the refrigerator, computer, phone, etc. An alarm system sounded if items were accessed

Talking trash cans that provide audio feedback when things are thrown away including voices recordings and sound effects

An electronic game of twister that used pressure sensors under the pads of the game and computer logic to monitor participants

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Student Reactions:Project Questions Fall 2009 Fall 2011

I feel that being able to see the programming concepts in LabVIEW helped me to understand them

3.67 3.9

I feel that learning LabVIEW will help me to learn another programming language next semester

3.58 3.9

I feel that I can easily understand what is going on in a program written in LabVIEW by looking at the Block Diagram

3.50 3.6

I feel that being able to see the program visually helps me understand how the program works

3.75 3.9

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Student Reactions:Project Questions Fall 2009 Fall 2011

I feel that the semester projects helped me understand programming better

3.82 4.2

I feel that the semester projects helped me to see how engineering can have an impact

3.57 3.9

I feel that presenting our projects to the 7th grade students was a good experience

4.07 --

I feel that working on the projects improved my confidence in my programming ability

3.71 3.9

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Student Reactions:

Course evaluations consistently higher for modified course than traditional course – despite increased workload

“Even though this section was more challenging, I enjoyed it because I felt like I was doing something that actually related to engineering.”

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Instructor Reactions: Hands-on nature of the projects

engaged the students Fall 2011 gave actual experience

with the “messiness” of engineering design

Open-endedness of projects requires wide range of expertise

Increased course cost over traditional sections

MyDAQ Projects were Senior Design quality

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Conclusions

Incorporated National Instruments LabVIEW and the MyDAQ system in the first-year engineering course at Purdue University

Use of LabVIEW and MyDAQ allowed students to work on real engineering problems

Student and instructor reactions were very positive Replication of service-learning project in

MATLAB Continuation of MyDAQ project in future

semesters

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Questions?

Greg Bucks – g-bucks@onu.edu Thank you:

William Oakes – oakes@purdue.eduAssociate Professor of Engineering Education and Director of EPICS Purdue

Andrew Watchorn – National Instruments Academic Program Manager for Midwest US

More Info: Bucks, G. and W. Oakes. Integration of graphical programming into a

first year engineering course. in ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. 2010. Louisville, KY.

Bucks, G. and W. Oakes. Enhancing the Experience in a First-Year Engineering Course Through the Incorporation of Graphical Programming and Data Acquisition Technology. in ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. 2012. San Antonio, TX.

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Secondary Project:Fall 2009 Students tasked with creating a

program in LabVIEW to help a student decide what engineering major to pursue: Ask different questions about the user’s

interests Based on research done throughout

semester on different engineering majors, use responses to questions to recommend a major

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Secondary Project: Examples of Student Work

Engineering Your Major Examples:1. 2. 3.