Digital design and programmable logic boards: Do students actually learn more?

Thomas Weng, Yi Zhu, Chung-Kuan Cheng
2008 2008 38th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference  
Digital design classes are increasingly using programmable logic devices (PLD) to augment the educational experience. Previous works discuss the advantages of using PLDs, such as Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), in digital logic design education and highlight the instructor's experience of integrating these teaching methods in the classroom. This paper instead focuses on the students' experience to determine the overall effectiveness of using
more » ... PLD boards. By using statistics from a comprehensive survey that targets student feedback and opinion, and by comparing our class's final exam scores with a previous class that did not use PLDs, we are able to informatively assess the benefits of using PLDs for digital design education.
doi:10.1109/fie.2008.4720348 fatcat:rontchkl3nazvm33txqckdg5ni