Abstract:

This paper provides an overview of SEED - the Sensor and Electronics Educational Database – a system designed to support independent student learning by using technology to teach technology. The SEED system is a resource designed to help students identify, learn, and access a wider range of electronic components and sensor technologies than what is feasible in a structured classroom or lab scenario.

New technologies are continually changing the way we learn, work, and play. The availability of new tools and resources is growing rapidly, particularly with regards to the increasing range of electronic components and sensing devices that provide us with the ability to interact with one another and the world around us. This widespread trend is readily evident by the response in advanced education to create a range of new courses in diverse disciplines that include electrical engineering, digital media, interactive art, physical computing, human-computer interaction and industrial design.

Typically there is a course in each of these programs that provides an introduction and instruction on capabilities of new electronic and sensor-based technologies along with an overview of how to use them. However, even though the classrooms, prototyping labs, and makerspaces associated with these courses all have an extensive range of electronic components for those learning to work with the technology, a typical course only provides instruction and core prototyping support for a small number of these components. As a result, students may not be familiar with the most appropriate parts for a new product concept they may have in mind. Often they don’t know what to look for, where to find parts, or how they might be used. The SEED system was created to connect these students with the available parts and the information they need to extend their design and prototyping capabilities – all on their own.

In the first fully operable implementation of the system, each tool or component is represented by an RFID card placed in a wall-mounted sleeve along with other component cards. The cards are topically categorized to facilitate quick and easy visual browsing. When a user wishes to learn more about a specific component, they simply pick up a card and place it on an RFID enabled “hot spot” on a lab table connected to a computer running SEED software. The program will then display a variety of interactive resources including links to vendor specifications and internet tutorials, as well as sample projects and the related wiring diagrams and computer code. The system will also tell the user where to find the part in the Lab.

We have been running the SEED System in our Lab for the past two years. The system continues to draw significant interest from educators and industry representatives who tour our lab. As part of an effort to build a more robust system that we can share with others, we have conducted a series of studies in order to:
1) validate user priorities and preferences of the existing system; and
2) collate strengths and weaknesses of similar lab teaching/learning methods from around the world.

In this presentation we will review our findings, share our list of pros, cons, and best practices to enhance independent learning, as well as an overview of our efforts to refine our SEED system.

Keywords:

Sensors, electronics, interactive product design, STEM, personalized learning, technology-enhanced learning, digital resources.