I'm updating the lab kit for the intro to programming courses, EECS 1011 and EECS 1021. The goal is to find a variety of 5v-compatible, low-current micro servo motors that can be used in student lab kits. These micro servos are sold by multiple vendors, both online and in brick-and-mortar shops, like traditional hobby stores […]
[as of May 21, 2025, this is a public draft] This kit is updated from 2024/25 edition of the kit with three new sensors, one extra actuator, an extra cable and "crib sheets" for Matlab and Java. The lab kit for the two courses include the following list of items We'll be asking the Bookstore […]
Detecting copied source code in student assignments is important. Here, I'll explore a few options that are possible for instructors here at York University, but these options may also work for instructors elsewhere. Look, there are a few notable reasons why copied source code will appear in a student's assignment: Given the convenience of the […]
[updated for Windows ARM users] For students attempting to get the USB drivers working for the Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino please follow these instructions: First: make sure that you're not using the white USB cable. Use a different one. Second: install the USB driver for the board. a) Go to Seeed Studio's wiki: https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Grove-Beginner-Kit-For-Arduino/ b) […]
[updated in 2024] I use Arduino-compatible hardware in two of the engineering programming classes that I teach here at York University. Rather than program the boards directly, I have the students install a little program on the Arduinos that can communicate with the programs that the students actually write on their own computers. For the […]
Here I'm going to outline an exercise in Matlab that combines the following features: A text file with four variants of the question Random selection of the variant Visual component in the form of an ASCII-art equation, like this: 2 ⋅ s + 4 ⋅ t a = ───────────── s + t The objective is […]
It's important to have dynamic 24/7 interactive activities for programming classes. There are plenty of solutions out there, including Matlab Grader and Möbius. The folks at Jetbrains have their Academy system, too. What I need, at this stage, is a no bells-and-whistles, auto-grader for Matlab code that can run a unit test on a student's […]
[Updated March 2024] EECS 1011 (and 1021) Lab Kit The EECS 1011 kit is available for purchase from the York University Bookstore. The link for all lab kits at the Bookstore is here. As soon as it is available your course instructor will let you know. While the official kit is designed to work for […]
This is the first semester that I've taught 100% online. The Fall 2020 lockdown and the YorkU strike in 2018 gave me a taste of what it would be like and alerted me to the need for restructuring of my classes in order to make them more favourable to learning. During the pandemic, students are […]
[courtesy of Eric Prandovzsky.] You can use the available devices in the kit to come up with something creative Button LED Buzzer Microphone Light Sensor Potentiometer DHT11 Temperature sensor. Pump Soil Moisture Sensor MOSFET If you want to add any advanced devices, these are the ones that have drivers available for MATLAB (all found on […]