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Computer Engineering

Overview

Computer Engineering was designed for students with a passion for computing and engineering.

It is for the student who is intensely interested in the how and the why of mechanical and electrical devices.

Students will learn:
  • basic analog circuit types
  • basic digital circuit types
  • transistors
  • logic gates
  • digital logic
  • registers
  • microcontrollers
  • motor control
  • circuit and schematic design
  • etching
  • soldering
  • Arduino
  • A/D and D/A convertors
  • basic C
  • Forth
  • assembly language
  • block diagram of microcontroller
  • communication protocols
  • timing diagrams
  • design cycle
Information

Students should be 13 years or older in order to do well in this class. Students should have a deep interest in learning this material. It is not necessary that a student know how to program already, but they should be ready and open to learn and study how to program.

This course will only be offered as a year long sequence broken into three 10-week sessions over our academic year quarters. The class will meet once a week for 2 hours.

This course will be using computers to implement both the hardware design and programming. Starting from simple components and working up to highly integrated devices students will gain a deep understanding of the analog and digital circuitry commonly used to create computing devices and interface them to the physical world around them and the tools and processes used to create them.

Each quarter will culminate with a project that will pull together everything they've learned so far. These projects will be designed to be used by other students in different courses at that QuantumCampus. These projects will vary from year to year.
The Year Sequence

Computer Engineering 1 (analog):
Students will learn the key circuit types that define the modern digital computer and how to assemble those circuits. Students will be introduced to low-level programming and will understand the electrical processes that govern the microprocessor. The process of coding will come alive as they learn the structures of the microprocessor.

Computer Engineering 2 (digital):
Students will delve deeper into usage of microprocessors and will learn the basics of circuit design and schematics and will
create/etch their own Arduino compatible logic board.They will be utilizing the Arduino environment as they learn to construct more complicated devices with the need for more fine control over input and output. Students will understand the interplay of code and hardware.

Computer Engineering 3 (binary):
The first two quarters serve as the basis for the more advanced computing designs that they will be doing in this last quarter. The challenge level increases as students learn to write ever more complicated code to control ever more complicated computing devices.

Summer Computer Engineering:
Starting with transistors, students will learn how to construct simple digital logic circuits. As they advance they will learn how these logic circuits combine to form more complicated structures such as full adders and latches. By the end of the week students will understand the very basics of assembly language.