Enhanced Practical Wireless Communications Education via Blended Instructional Tools

Abstract

Today's graduating telecommunications engineers need marketable skills that are typically developed beyond the traditional classrooms. These skills set can be acquired by experimenting for hands-on experience that resembles the professional field workplace. In this paper, we address blending of methodologies, applications, and the use of the Internet for delivery of knowledge, and instruction in an undergraduate wireless communications engineering course. This solution combines several different delivery methods, such as face-to-face, team collaboration, field measurements, in conjunction with high-end professional simulation software. Two examples of handover in a dual-mode cellular network and radio frequency (RF) signal propagation modeling are considered. Demonstrations and verification of theoretical models are presented based-on blending of instructional means. Lessons are learned to enhance hands-on experiments beyond traditional laboratories to strengthen in-depth analysis, learning skills of students, in addition to promoting proper team collaboration on projects.