Enrique Mandado

VISCP: a virtual instrumentation and CAD tool for electronic engineering learning

The main objective of electronic engineering learning is the development of the students ability to design, simulate and test electronic circuits to implement real systems. Commercial tools are very flexible and feature a lot of options. Nevertheless, they are oriented towards the professional market, and they provide many features not needed for educational purposes. On the other hand, much time devoted to understanding very complex manuals is required by the students to master these tools, slowing down the learning of fundamental design concepts. The objective of this communication is to present a CAD tool for the design of digital electronic circuits as well as for testing developed circuits. The system, which is called VISCP, is an educational tool for practical training on digital systems and is intended to guide students in the practical design of basic digital circuits.

Educational applications of reconfigurable hardware based virtual instruments

A lot of computer assisted learning (CAL) tools which complement traditional learning methods have been developed due to the decreasing cost and increasing capacity of personal computers. Nevertheless, there are only few experiences combining CAL tools with practical experiments in order to consolidate the theoretical learning. This is the particular case of electronics, where practical education is generally based on traditional independent measurement instruments and CAL tools are used for simulation only. This paper describes a new solution based on reconfigurable virtual instruments that provides a link between CAL tools and practical experiments in electronics.

A computer assisted learning tool for electronic design training

The main objective of Electronic Engineering learning is the development of the students ability to design, simulate and test electronic circuits to implement real systems. Commercial tools are very flexible and feature a lot of options. Nevertheless, they are oriented towards the professional market, and they provide many features not needed for educational purposes. On the other hand, much time devoted to understanding very complex manuals is required by the students to master these tools, slowing down the learning of fundamental design concepts. The objective of this communication is to present a CAD tool for the design of digital electronic circuits as well as for testing developed circuits. The system, which is called VISCP, is an educational tool for practical training on Digital Systems and is intended to guide students in the practical design of basic digital circuits.