Project-Based Learning in Telecommunications: An Approach To Teaching New Technologies

Abstract

This paper provides a description of our approach to teaching new technologies in the senior-level telecommunications course in the University of Houston’s College of Technology (CoT). In this course, students are required to work on two projects during the semester: 1) the design of a wide area network for a fictitious company with four locations with their respective local area networks and 2) the design of a voice over IP solution for the same company. For both projects, students use the CoT test bed, a telecommunications network used by CoT and AT&T for training and research. To prepare the students for these subsequent projects, we utilize an educational model that includes: theory through lectures leading to projects, presentations of infrastructure and technologies in class by the telecommunications network manager, demonstrations of and experimentation with the infrastructure and technologies by network manager with teams of two students, a research and design phase when teams bring their projects to the lecturer for approval and corrections leading to the final report and presentation of their designs. We have found that our project-based learning method to be very effective in teaching students about Telecommunications since we first implemented it two years ago. Most students complete the requirements and succeed in learning about the technologies presented in class. This method has begun to be implemented in other courses in the CoT such as data communications and computer networking.