DIGITAL ELECTRONICS & ROBOTICS CLASS

DIGITAL ELECTRONICS (and ROBOTICS) (DE)

Grade Level:  10 - 12 Full Year Course Credit: 1.00

Co-requisites: Algebra 2, or higher mathematics and permission of instructor. IED and/or POE can be taken at the same time as DE.

Students who have taken IED or POE may be given preference for this class.

Digital Electronics is a course in applied digital logic that encompasses the application of electronic circuits and devices.  Computer simulation software is used to design and test digital circuitry prior to the actual construction of circuits and devices. Students will be introduced to digital circuits found in video games, switches, digital cameras, calculators, and thousands of other devices. Students will study the application of digital logic and digital devices that are used to control automatic equipment. The course utilizes state of the art, virtual electronic circuitry design software. This course is similar to a first semester college course and is an important course of study for a student exploring a career in engineering or engineering technology and is a prerequisite for the higher-level PLTW courses. The second semester focuses on learning and applying robotics and a robot competition. It is recommended that students take IED and/or POE before or at the same time as DE, and have a 2.5 or better GPA.

Projects include Parallax Robots, breadboarding, Circuitmaker Simulation software, soldering, Take Home Projects of students choice, 7-Segment Birthday Circuit, Presidential Voting Circuit, kit simulators, and more.  Take home projects are selected by students from hundreds of possibilities, and have included the following: the Aggravator, FM Radio, Magic Wand Message Display, Mintyboost USB IPOD recharger, Lie Detector, Variable Strobe Light, Solar Bug, and many others!