Enhancement of traditional mode of teaching based on the experience of project-based learning
Project based learning (PBL) has become more popular due to its student centered nature of learning compared to traditional modes of learning. However, it is not always feasible to implement it due to several reasons. At the University of New South Wales, the PBL mode was trialled on an introductory Digital Signal Processing course for two consecutive years and the evaluation was previously reported. After that, based on the experience of PBL implementation, some elements of PBL have been incorporated with traditional mode of teaching to enhance the traditional mode and that enhanced traditional mode have been continued. The experience of enhancing the traditional mode with components derived from PBL, particularly the inclusion of conceptual design presentation and laboratory tests, are promising. This paper presents the task description of PBL and experience of how some of the components of PBL can be utilized to enhance the traditional mode of teaching.
Experiences with an electronic whiteboard teaching laboratory and tablet PC based lecture presentations [DSP courses]
This paper presents our experience in constructing an electronic whiteboard-based computer laboratory for teaching digital signal processing (DSP) courses in Australian undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Student interaction with the electronic whiteboard-based tutorial class environment is also reported. Away from the laboratory, DSP lectures were presented using a tablet PC as a digital whiteboard. This supported high quality handwriting annotation of lecture slides, and overcame the limited flexibility present in the existing PowerPoint mode of lecture delivery. For selected self-paced tutorial questions, solutions were provided in electronic format comprising the lecturer's handwritten explanation on a blank slide, input using the tablet PC, combined with audio commentary. An evaluation of student opinions towards this multi-mode delivery of DSP education was illuminating, and the overall experience with these technological aids was that signal processing could be effectively and naturally taught with high student attention span.
Synthesis of 2,4-dideoxy-.beta.-D-erythro-hexopyranosyl nucleosides
The synthesis of 1-(2,4-dideoxy-β-D-erythro-hexopyranosyl)thymine (12) 1 was accomplished using two different synthetic routes. It was obtained starting either from 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-α-D-glucofuranose or from tri-O-acetyl-D-glucal. The other modified nucleosides, with either a cytosine, guanine, or adenine moiety, were synthesized using the second reaction scheme. Deoxygenation reactions were accomplished with the (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)thiocarbonyl derivatives generated in situ