Teaching digital system design with a minicomputer

Design education requires a study of the "art" involved in a given discipline in addition to the study of its "science." Textbooks tend to concentrate on the science and leave the art as 'an exercise for the student.' One solution to this problem is the use of a "real" example of the discipline involved as a teaching aid and laboratory tool. With this approach the art and science can be taught in integrated form and with the given system as a base, these principles can be readily extrapolated to other systems. The "broad brush" approach to design education without a base of knowledge tends to leave the student little net gain.