Overview

Computer engineering is an interesting area of study because it brings together ideas from a variety of subject areas. The goal of this online learning resource is to make the subject interesting to a wide student audience while presenting the concepts in a rigorous and hands-on manner. This approach provides students with the opportunity of working with components while learning the concepts, and exploring a wide variety of topics related to computer engineering and related areas.  Students are encouraged to test their understanding of concepts learned and relate these concepts to their experiences.  Students are also encouraged to build devices that relate to the concepts, and use their creative thinking.

The resource  has been organized into topics that follow a logical progression. It begins with ideas and concepts that most students are familiar with, and then expands into new territory. The topics have been created to be relatively independent of each other to allow for greater teaching flexibility. Care has been taken to maintain a simple level of language to help students who are new to English. A search feature is provided to facilitate finding information quickly. Effort has also been made to ensure that new concepts are introduced in a manner that the student can relate to. For example, the concept of number systems and different bases is introduced based on the idea of counting which all students are familiar with. Students are also provided with practice questions at the end of each section and review questions at the end of each topic, to consolidate their understanding of concepts.   Concept summaries, concept maps, and key terms are also provided at the end of each chapter to help the student get an overall picture of the ideas within a topic.

Topic 1:      This section introduces the student to the concept of computing, and its development over time. Basic ideas and terminology are introduced at this point to help the student to expand their thinking beyond the familiar.

Topic 2:      In this section students are introduced to numbers that are used in computing. Numerical analysis in binary and other bases is discussed extensively to give the student a firm foundation. Two optional topics, encryption and data compression, are discussed to encourage the student to think further.

Topic 3:      The study of logic is presented to the student in this topic. Here the different logical operators are discussed, and the relationship between logic and binary is explored. Analytical tools, such as truth tables and logic maps, are introduced to facilitate the understanding of these concepts.

Topic 4:      The focus of this section is on circuit theory. Basic circuit concepts are introduced to help the student understand the principles behind digital circuits. Along with circuit concepts, various components that are commonly used in digital circuits are also introduced here.

Topic 5:      The various building blocks of computing circuits are discussed in this section. First combinational logic circuits are presented, and then sequential logic circuits are introduced.

Topic 6:      This section discusses Boolean algebra, bringing together concepts from binary, logic, and circuits. This chapter shows the interrelationships and the portability of ideas from one area to the other. The chapter also focuses on the mathematical analysis of digital circuits.

Topic 7:      The focus of this section is on interfacing devices with the computer. Different interfacing methods and protocols are discussed here.

Topic 8:      Programming concepts are introduced in this section, along with concepts involving computer architecture. The types of computer instructions and the nature of programming languages are discussed, along with program execution and device interactions.

Topic 9:      This section deals with the broad area of computer networking. Networking concepts are introduced and discussed using the OSI model. Various protocols, LAN and WAN, are introduced and discussed.

Topic 10:    The practical side of computer engineering is addressed in this section. The investigations are grouped together in a single chapter because many of the experiments involve multiple concepts. The experiments can be conducted independently throughout the course.

This online resource covers content that meets the curriculum requirements of computer engineering courses, but the ultimate goal is to instill in students an interest for the subject of computer engineering.