General structure#
Each unit in this course typically contains the following components in chronological order:
Pre-class preparation
Introductory problem
tasks / readings / videos for self-learning
Free-response problems / Quiz
In-class lecture including feedback for the next unit
Please do 1 before our in-class lecture.
Some details about these components:
The introductory problem may seem difficult at first sight. It is perfectly fine if you have difficulties with this question – this is a productive failure which prepares you for the concepts that you learn in this unit. Try to solve it even you don’t have any idea. Pay attention that you do not spend unreasonably long time so that you have also time for the rest of the preparation. For example if you have 5 hours of preparation planned for each week, you should not spend more than 2 hours for the introductory problem. You have already achieved the goal of the introductory problem if you identify where you have problems.
Even the in-class lecture will contain a mini-lecture about the readings, we won’t cover every concept from the readings/videos — please take the time for reading! Note any uncertainties, because what we focus on in the class depends also on you.
Do not leave these problems/quiz out! Testing your knowledge helps you to understand whether you understood the concepts.
The in-class lecture will be structured as follows:
doubts/questions from the preparation — please submit them to your facilitator so that we can address them during the lecture.
a mini-lecture about important concepts
group activity
wrap-up activity
Exercise 1
Imagine you are at the end of this semester. What did you learn in this course? Name at least two goals/expectations.
Examples:
I know how to design a wireless communication system for typical body sensor networks.
I finally understood the why complex numbers are useful in signal processing
I can pick up wireless signals and decode them, how cool!