This course was motivated by the observation that many students entering electrical and computer engineering studies lack even the most basic skills, e.g. how to use hand tools, solder, etc. The primary goal of the course is to better prepare students for their engineering studies and to be sure that a career in engineering is a good "fit". The focus of this course is the construction of a small walking robot known as a Stiquito.

ECE 1230 has been taught to approximately 80 students. Initial assessment results indicate that most of the specific course learning objectives are being met. The benefits and details of this course have been disseminated to the public via national conferences, internal and external workshops, and the web. The intent is to inspire other engineering programs to consider adopting similar courses as one approach to improving engineering education.

ECE 1230 is the result of a project supported by the National Science Foundation, Western Michigan University, and Tektronix, Inc. This project was also able to offer a robotics competition. This competition paired senior and novice ECE students in teams to design and build robots capable of autonomously navigating through an obstacle course. This activity provided an outstanding opportunity to build on the foundation provided in ECE 1230.

The project FINAL REPORT is available by sending a request to Dr. Damon Miller. This report contains detailed information on the "why" and "how" of the ECE 1230 course and robotics competition and assessment results.

DOCUMENTS

ECE 1230 Manual. LIMIT ONE COPY PER PERSON. EDUCATIONAL AND NON-PROFIT USE ONLY. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE (see manual copyright information). Comments/corrections to Dr. Damon Miiller.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND DISCLAIMER

D. A. Miller, M. Z. Atashbar, F. L. Severance, and R. Tanner, Walking Before Running: Filling the Freshman Engineering Gap by Building Mobile Stiquito^TM Robots. National Science Foundation Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement Program, Grant No. 0088158, January 2001-December 2004.

This information is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0088158. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

(c) 2023 Damon A. Miller. All rights reserved.