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Introductory courses in microelectronic circuits are integral components to electrical and computer engineering undergraduate curriculums. The nature of the material is well‐suited for the incorporation of simulation tools to enhance student understanding of core concepts. SPICE is an electrical circuit simulation tool that has been widely adopted for industrial applications and education. In many instances, engineering instructors have used SPICE‐based simulation tools for homework problems, laboratory exercises, and course projects. Although generally accepted as beneficial to electronics education, the use of SPICE simulation tools is typically restricted to these types of assignments and not heavily used for classroom activity. In this paper, we present a novel method for incorporating SPICE simulation tools into the classroom. Specifically, in a summer 2017 microelectronics course, we used simulation tools for all aspects of the course, incorporating simulation into lecture, in‐class active learning, as well as assignments, and projects. To evaluate this approach, we carried out a rigorous, comprehensive study of this pedagogical approach on student learning, and perspectives using a variety of direct and indirect assessment methods. The results across all measures showed substantial benefits for students to using this methodology and positive responses to the active learning. Beyond microelectronics and other electrical and computer engineering courses, this approach can be applied to other STEM courses where complex systems are studied and simulation tools for these systems are readily accessible to students.

Dr. Samuel Dickerson is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. His general research interests lie in the area of electronics, circuits and embedded systems and in particular, technologies in those areas that have biomedical applications. He has expertise in the design and simulation of mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems that incorporate the use of both digital and analog electronics, as well as optics, microfluidics and devices that interface to the biological world. Dr. Dickerson also has a strong interest in enhancing undergraduate engineering education, and investigates new and innovative methods for improving the learning experience for electrical and computer engineering students.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Preparing Undergraduate Engineering Students for the Internet of Things AbstractDesigning technology that will be part of the Internet of Things (IoT) requires knowledge from a broad spectrum of technical areas including analog and digital communications, information theory, networking protocols, microcontrollers and electronics, electromagnetics, and more. That breadth of subject matter runs counter to the increasingly narrow focus of Electrical and Computer Engineering programs and enrolling in courses that cover that span is often not practical for students. In trying to prepare students for the IoT, some questions that arise are: Which topics should be selected and where in the curriculum should those topics be presented to them? In what context do we present the topics to them? Also, how should we teach students about IoT in a way that is accessible, while maintaining enough depth of coverage that students have confidence in their ability to contribute to the future of the field? We've addressed these questions by revamping our introductory computer networking course, gearing all of the selected topics towards the IoT. Our approach is to take the students through the evolution of wireless networks past and present, starting from early radio communication and cellular networks, to medium and short range wireless computer networks and then to active and passive RFID networks. Each specific network type is not covered extensively, but rather a few key technologies from each network are selected and covered in depth, thereby creating a conceptual "toolbox" of IoT techniques and methods for the student. Along the way, topics typically not included in traditional networking courses, but important to the IoT, such as microcontroller interfaces, antenna design and RFID energy harvesting principles are introduced to the students. In this paper, a detailed overview of this newly developed course and its content is presented. In addition, we show how the structure of the course makes it especially well-suited to address one of the more challenging ABET student outcomes to assess, outcomes dealing with the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context. Finally, the degree to which we are achieving our desired lear...

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in the department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. His research interests are focused in the areas of computational simulation, additive manufacturing techniques and soft tissue biomechanics. He has broad industrial experience in materials processing, mechanical design and constitutive material model development. Dr. Schmidt is active is in the advancement of undergraduate education through the development of innovative active learning methods.

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His general research interests lie in the area of electronics, circuits and embedded systems and in particular, technologies in those areas that have biomedical applications. He has expertise in the design and simulation of mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems that incorporate the use of both digital and analog electronics, as well as optics, microfluidics and devices that interface to the biological world. Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh faculty he was a co-founder and the president of Nanophoretics LLC, where he led the research and development of a novel dielectrophoresis-based lab-on-chip technology for rapidly detecting drug-resistant bacteria strains. Dr. Dickerson is also interested in enhancing undergraduate engineering education, and investigates new and innovative methods for improving the learning experience for electrical and computer engineering students.

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