Improving an introductory course on digital logic

Takach, M.D.; Moser, A.

doi:10.1109/fie.1995.483203

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Over the last 20 to 25 years we have seen HDL languages and other ideas introduced into digital systems education. Takach and Moser [6] looked to improve digital systems design course, and Areibi [7] was one of the first authors to puclish work on using both HDL and programmable logic systems within these courses. Since then various approaches to improving students performance in this space have been attempted including a better understanding of HDL [8], computer architecture design with HDLs [9] [10], games [11] [12], and visualization techniques [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is It Time to Include High-Level Synthesis Design in Digital System Education for Undergraduate Computer Engineers?

Nelson

Ferreira

Nacif

et al. 2021

2021 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS)

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We ask the question, "should High-level Synthesis (HLS) design be part of an undergraduate computer engineering education while learning digital system design?".Current trends in industry include an increasing demand for engineers who can build FPGA systems. FPGAs, just like other chips, continue to improve in terms of complexity, speed, available resources, and new features. The design complexity for using an FPGA continues to grow and Hardware Description Languages (HDLs), though a step up in design efficiency compared to schematic design, is a low-level approach akin to assembly language for programmers, and HDLs limits the productivity of an engineer. HLS tools, such as Legup, Intel HLS, and Xilinx's Vivado attempt to provide designers with a higher-level design abstraction providing a means to describe their computation in high-level languages -such as C. As these tools become more mainstream in industry, when should education follow?In this work, we explore how HLS tools might be used by an undergraduate by looking at exemplar designs, a simple RISC-V processor and a basic C loop, and implementing the design in both HDL and HLS. We then analyze the FPGA cost of each implementation. Next, we provide a philosophical discussion based on this experience on what the pros and cons of moving students to HLS design abstraction level are.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is It Time to Include High-Level Synthesis Design in Digital System Education for Undergraduate Computer Engineers?

Nelson

Ferreira

Nacif

et al. 2021

2021 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS)

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“…Takach and Moser 17 were one of the early contributors for using simulation and PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices) in their teaching of digital systems. PLDs, in the teaching domain, have been replaced with FPGA prototyping boards and Zhu et.…”

Section: Research In Digital Design Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

verilogTown - Improving Students Learning Hardware Description Language Design - Verilog - with a Video Game

Jamieson¹

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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In this work, we present our game, verilogTown, as an aid to students learning Verilog.The reason for such a game comes from our experiences teaching digital system design where we observed a challenge for second year students learning to design with the Verilog hardware description language (HDL). In this work, we speculate why it is hard to learn an HDL, claiming that like learning all languages, the students do not play/use the language enough to develop an understanding of them (including Verilog). A student's typical process of learning Verilog includes class examples and assignments, labs, and a project, but like learning more traditional programming languages, until a learner spends significant time using a language to build something, these experiences only result in a basic understanding. verilogTown was created to provide students with a medium to play with Verilog in an engaging and safe environment. The hope is that instead of simply completing a working design for a class, students will be challenged by the game puzzles and will spend significantly more time with Verilog design. Our comparison on exam performance in 2014 and 2015 without and with verilogTown suggests that our game impacts student Verilog understanding.

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Use of PLDs to illustrate fundamental concepts in switching and logic

Grover

Ugweje

32nd Annual Frontiers in Education

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This paper discusses the application a/ programmable logic devices (PLDs) to enhance the understanding ofdigital design at the University of Akron. Switching and Logic course has oflen been taught as a classical engineering class where students have little or no hands-on experience. and sometimes have diJjficulty in understanding the basic concepl. With the availability of lower-cost, digiral and logic components, and test equipment, this is changing. For freshman and sophomore engineering students taking an introduction to digital design, one musl make sure that error in implemenlation such as w i r i n g errors do not prevent the concept ofdesign from getting through. To ense implementation problems at the university, programmable logic devices in the form of ICT PEELsTM and PEELTM arrays are used with motherboard and daughter boards. The configuration tools are easy to use and available at no cost to the students for home use. Two and multilevel implementation are investigated for both combinational and sequential networks. The motherboard, daughter board combination was locally developed allowing their resources to closely track the accompanying laboratory exercises. By reducing wiring 10 a minimum laboratory, exercises can range from analysis to design and be accomplished in the allotted threehour period. The overall efectiveness of this instructional model has been positive. and this continues to be used and expanded.

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Improving an introductory course on digital logic

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Is It Time to Include High-Level Synthesis Design in Digital System Education for Undergraduate Computer Engineers?

Is It Time to Include High-Level Synthesis Design in Digital System Education for Undergraduate Computer Engineers?

verilogTown - Improving Students Learning Hardware Description Language Design - Verilog - with a Video Game

Use of PLDs to illustrate fundamental concepts in switching and logic

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