Course Syllabus
Overview
This is a laboratory class focused on developing hands-on skills for electrical and computer engineers. Core topics include PCB design and manufacture, soldering, 3D printing, microcontroller (Arduino) programming, software version control, circuit and code debugging, use of measurement and test equipment.
Prerequisite: CSE 122, CSE 123, CSE 142, or CSE 143, any of which may be taken concurrently.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Create basic printed circuit boards, including schematic, layout, and soldering assembly with components.
- Write simple microcontroller programs within a standard tool flow.
- Create simple 3D printed objects, including CAD design and 3D printer based fabrication.
- Measure steady-state and time-varying voltages and currents.
- Use modern version-control systems.
Materials: there is no required textbook for this course; all hands-on materials, including the lab kit you purchased, will be provided at the appropriate time in the quarter.
Format: video lectures, in-person labs
We will provide recorded lectures and slides for you to review asynchronously, then we will meet synchronously for 3 hours of hands-on laboratory work each week. We expect that you will review the materials provided in advance and participate fully in your designated lab section.
More specifically, your responsibilities each week include:
- Arrive at your session's start time and stay until the final "checkoff" for the lab (or "checkout checkoff") -- message the Prof, Head TA, and your section's TAs in advance if you will arive late or be absent.
- Bring a laptop with at least 5GB free on your hard drive so you can install necessary software and store required files.
- Watch lecture video and complete "before class" tasks -- ideally before your lab section starts
- Complete "during class" tasks in your scheduled lab section
- Request a TA "checkoff" on your final product (or a "checkout checkoff" with a plan to finish)
Grading
Your grade will be determined by the hands-on work you carry out in your designated laboratory section. Specifically: when you complete a lab assignment, you will present the product of your effort to a TA. The TA will examine your product and engage with you in a question-and-answer discussion. We will refer to this evaluation as a "checkoff".
Checkoffs
Your checkoff grade will be be determined by two elements that are weighted equally: the technical correctness of the product, and your ability to answer questions about the product. The former is a "summative" assessment that tests your ability to complete engineering tasks "to spec", that is, to satisfy a specific list of performance requirements. The latter is a "formative" assessment that provides feedback to you about your knowledge of the course material. If you engage in thoughtful dialogue with the instructional staff regarding every product in every lab session, your course grade cannot be less than 50%.
If your product does not meet spec during your checkoff, you are permitted to continue working on it and request another checkoff. Please do not request more than 3 checkoffs in total per product.
Grading rubric
Checkoff scores from each week of lab contribute equally to your final grade, so your work during each of the 10 weeks of lab is worth 10% of the final grade.
Grading scale
To determine your grade at any point in the course, multiply your grade on Canvas by 4.0 to obtain your current grade point score. We reserve the right to "curve up", that is, raise everyone's final grade points. We will not "curve down" -- your final grade will not be less than what is shown on Canvas.
Individual vs group work
Unless otherwise specified, you must create your own products for checkoffs. You are welcome to collaborate with your peers, but they should not do the work for you. For instance, you may offer feedback on someone's surface-mount soldering technique, but you must not solder the part for them. And you can review someone else's code for bugs, but you cannot write the code for them. There will be a handful of exceptions to this policy for specific labs; if you are in doubt about any particular situation, discuss with a TA.
External information sources
You are welcome (and encouraged) to consult textbooks, websites, and other publicly-available materials, so long as you disclose full citation(s) for the resource(s) with the URL and/or DOI and what specific information you used to produce your product.
Grading Q&A
Q: what if I cannot attend my section in any particular week?
A: contact the Prof, Head TA, and your section's TAs and propose how you will make up the missed lab time -- if you are able to attend a different section in the same week, that may be a good option, but you can only do so with permission from the instructional staff (Prof or TAs). If that is not possible, we will discuss other options.
Q: what if I don't complete the final product during my scheduled session?
A: bring your product to a TA for a "checkout checkoff". Discuss a plan for completing the lab and bringing it to any TA office hour for the final "checkoff" evaluation.
Safety
There will be a significant amount of hands-on work with tools and equipment that may pose a risk of injury. To minimize the risk of mishandling and/or accidents, you must follow these general guidelines:
Food and beverages: food is prohibited in 137 at all times. Beverages are prohibited on lab benches at all times. Beverages are permitted on the rectangular tables in the lecture area and the round tables between the two entrances to 137.
Apparel: Protective eyewear is required at all times while using tools or when near others who are using tools; safety glasses are provided in the lab. Other than that there is no explicit apparel requirement but long sleeves, long pants, and closed-toe shoes are highly recommended. If you have long hair, tying it back is also highly recommended.
Safe operation: TAs will demonstrate safe operation of every tool or instrument you are expected to use in the lab. You must understand these operations prior to using the tool or equipment. While proficiency with tools and instruments will come from hands-on practice, if you find yourself unsure or uncomfortable with an operation, please feel free to ask and check with the instructor for assistance before attempting the operation.
Attendance
We expect that you will review the materials provided in advance and participate fully in your designated lab section. If you are unable to attend your section in any particular week, contact the Prof, Head TA, and your section TAs as soon as possible with a suggested day and time to make up the missed work and schedule the checkoff. It is best if you are able to attend a different section that week, but you can only do so with permission from the instructional staff (Prof or TAs).
Generative "AI" and LLM
We live in interesting times for pedagogy. Many faculty are concerned about how the broad availability of generative "AI" tools like large language models (LLM) affects the acquisition and application of knowledge (as well as the risks to broader society). I am curious about how these tools can be used in the context of this course. Thus, I have no objection to you solving problems in this class using generative "AI" or LLM.
Consistent with my policy on citing external sources (textbooks, websites, etc), you must specific the tool (GPT-3.5 or -4, Bard, LLaMa-2, etc) and the prompt used to generate the solution. Of course, incorrect answers will be penalized regardless of the source. I understand that commercially-available tools are nondeterministic, so if I input your prompt it may not generate output identical to what you observed. But I am interested to learn what kinds of prompts generate course-relevant outputs.
Notes and caveats:
- this policy only applies to my course -- it is your responsibility to adhere to the policies in other courses, your workplace, and your professional community;
- these tools regularly generate falsehoods -- it is your responsibility to vet the output before putting it into practice (whether in this course or in your career);
- these tools are being used to cause real harm -- it is our collective responsibility to determine best-practices that enable productive use and prevent abuse.
Canvas
We will use Canvas (i.e. this site) extensively for interaction outside the classroom.
The instruction team will provide homeworks, example code, etc. through Canvas; you will submit homeworks electronically through Canvas as described above.
If you have a question -- about a concept, HW problem, etc. -- it's likely someone else in the class does as well. Please consider posting your question to Canvas Discussions.
If you are unfamiliar with Canvas, here are some links to help you get started:
https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/canvas/getting-started
https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/canvas/how-do-i
https://community.canvaslms.com/community/answers/guides/
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
I strongly believe that all must be provided with equality of opportunity to pursue and advance in engineering careers and that no individual should experience marginalization or non-inclusiveness of their contributions or talents because of visible or invisible differences. For example, among others, these differences include age, belief system, disability status, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and any other visible or non-visible differences. I am committed to increasing the participation, inclusion, and empowerment of historically under-represented segments of society in our research fields, including pre-college, university, and industry environments as well as professional organizations. In particular, I currently serve as the ECE Department's first Associate Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in which role I am working with folks throughout our Department, College, and University to implement an impactful and sustainable strategy.
Disability and access accommodations
Your experience in this class is important to me. I have made a number of intentional design decisions in an effort to make this course as accessible as possible, but if you need additional accommodations then I welcome receiving them from Disability Resources for Students (DRS).
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), I encourage you to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
Religious accommodations
Effective July 28 2019, Washington State Senate Bill 5166 required that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. I am proud that my UW ECE colleague Rania Hussein contributed to drafting and promoting this legislation.
The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Faculty Syllabus Guidelines and Resources. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form available at: https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/
Safety
Call SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 anytime – no matter where you work or study – to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others. SafeCampus’s team of caring professionals will provide individualized support, while discussing short- and long-term solutions and connecting you with additional resources when requested.
Academic misconduct
Engineering is a profession demanding a high level of personal honesty, integrity and responsibility. Therefore, it is essential that engineering students, in fulfillment of their academic requirements and in preparation to enter the engineering profession, shall adhere to the University of Washington’s Student Code of Conduct.
Any student in this course suspected of academic misconduct (e.g., cheating, plagiarism, or falsification) will be reported to the College of Engineering Dean’s Office and the University’s Office of Community Standards and Student conduct. (See CoE website for more detailed explanation of the academic misconduct adjudication process). Any student found to have committed academic misconduct will receive a 0-grade on impacted academic work (e.g., assignments, project, or exams).
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|