Successful engineers are able to answer technical questions "on the spot" in front of an audience. They are able to "think on their feet" and work through problems quickly, even in the presence of an audience. This assignment (which takes the place of weekly homework) will help students to practice discussing engineering issues in large groups.
During each class, every student will be given the opportunity to answer one or more questions given by the instructor. The questions will cover the required materials for the previous week. Questions may have simple answers, or require solving problems or illustrating concepts on the board. The order of questions will be randomly determined before the class begins.
In general, there are two types of experiences:
 | Short problems. These questions will
require the student to compute an answer or solve a problem. Students may
consult notes to answer these questions.
| ||||||
| Quick-answer questions. These
correspond to fill-in-the-blank or short-answer quiz questions. Students will
not be allowed to consult notes to answer these questions.
|
For more information on question types, see this list of sample questions.
The student's response will be graded by the instructor according to the following scale. The complexity of the problem will be taken into account when assessing student performance.:
| Quality of Response | Grade |
| Shows full comprehension of subject. Often includes additional relevant information. Quick and assertive in response. | A |
| Shows reasonable comprehension of subject. May require some direction to get the full answer. | B |
| Shows some comprehension of subject. Requires help to get the full answer. | C |
| Shows little comprehension of subject. Requires extensive help in answering. | D |
| Shows no comprehension of subject. Cannot answer question even with help. | E |
Students are expected to attend all class sessions except in the case of illness or otherwise unavoidable situations. If a class is missed, the student must submit written answers to all of the review questions listed for that week. In cases such as conflicting meetings and business trips, where the absence can be anticipated, the written responses are due by the beginning of class. In cases such as illness, where the absence cannot be anticipated, the student should contact the instructor to arrange a due date.
| Project 1 (1-2 people). Theory meets
reality |
| Project 2. (1-2 people). Communications system
requirements |
| Project 3 (1-2 people). Communications topic Web Page |
| Project 4. (1-2 people). Underdeveloped country communications plan |
For TIMS Labs, please see the TIMS Reference Page.
| Lab 1 (1-2 people) - Spectrum Analysis (part 1) Harmonics (part 2) |
| Lab 2 (1-2 people) - Lab 2 - Digital Signals |
| Lab 3 (1-2 people) - Lab 3 - Amplitude Modulation |
| Lab 4 (1-2 people) - Lab 4 - Keying - ASK, FSK, PSK |
The primary purpose of the laboratory exercises is for students to explore physical signals in the time- and frequency domains. Students who are curious and explore variations on the prescribed lab assignments will get the most out of the assignment. Students who just follow the directions as quickly as possible will have minimal learning. All lab reports should be well-formatted and easily readable. The report should be written in complete paragraphs and sentences, explaining relevant lab setup and measurements. Lab reports which simply answer the given questions without context will receive C or lower grades.
| Excellent (A level) lab reports will demonstrate an attitude of exploration. The report will include discussion of all results as well as indicate interesting additional questions or additional experiments done during the lab time. The report will be well-written and easily readable. |
| Good (B level) lab reports include all required observations and results as well as discussion and interpretation of most all of the results. The report will be well-written. |
| Fair (C level) lab reports will include required results but little more. |
| Poor (D or E level) reports will include only a subset of required results. |
Kevin Bolding October 11, 2010
