Enhancing students' perception of single-sideband suppressed-carrier principles by using cooperative and computer-based learning

Single-sideband systems are the preferred modulation format in analogue voice transmission for two-way radio communications on the high-frequency portion of the radio spectrum. Recent literature has presented methods of conveying other modulation formats (such as frequency and amplitude modulation) to engineering students by means of computer-based learning. However, little has been documented on assisting senior engineering students to grasp fundamental communication principles related to single-sideband suppressed-carrier (SSB-SC) systems, which include suppressed-carrier generation and sideband filtering. This article presents such a method, which is based on cooperative and computer-based learning. It presents the structure of a practical assignment (PA) designed to assist students to grasp SSB-SC principles in a well-equipped laboratory at a university of technology. The throughput rate of this PA is contrasted to the theoretical assessment of this section of the syllabus in a module termed radio engineering III. Throughput rate is defined as the number of students who are enrolled for a module in Higher Education compared to the number of students who successfully complete that same module within a given semester, expressed as a percentage. The theoretical assessment involves a written test on the fundamental principles of single-sideband systems. A high success rate has been maintained for the past 7 years of instruction. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 20: 332338, 2012