The 2012 Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware was awarded for iJDSP: A Mobile Signal Analysis Educational App for iOS Smartphones and Tablets, by Andreas Spanias of Arizona State University.

The award was presented at the Premier Award Ceremony on October 5 at the Frontiers in Education Conference, held this year in Seattle, Washington. This year’s panel of judges comprised a diverse cross-section of experts in engineering education and interactive media. Sponsors of the award program are John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Microsoft Research and TechSmith.

iJDSP is a mobile application (app) that enables simulation and visualization of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) concepts and algorithms on iOS devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. This app has been developed for education purposes in the Signal Processing Laboratory of the SenSIP Center at Arizona State University. iJDSP provides an intuitive multi-touch user interface; DSP simulations can be established as a block diagram using a simple touch-n-drop procedure. iJDSP has a rich suite of signal processing functions including signal generators, digital filters, pole-zero and frequency response computation, FIR and IIR filter design algorithms, FFT, plot functions, a sound recorder/player, and many others.

iJDSP is developed for use by students and instructors on iPhone, iPod, and iPad platforms in DSP and other related classes. It has a rich suite of signal processing functions for interactive mobile DSP simulations that include filter design, z-transforms, and QMF banks. The main purpose of the graphical user interface is to assist undergraduate students and other users in learning and applying signal processing algorithms and concepts. The simple and intuitive user interface of iJDSP is easy to understand with minimal assistance. All functions in iJDSP are organized as graphical blocks that can be visually added to the main simulation view of the application. It was observed in the student assessments that in most cases, only a few minutes are sufficient for users to get familiar with the iJDSP environment. Through ready access on mobile devices, students can readily solve “what-if” problems in-class or in their study environment.Inherent access to mobile device I/O mechanisms like microphones and speakers allow students to tie mathematical concepts to physical phenomenon.

The Premier Award competition, hosted by the Engineering Pathway digital librariy, is open to a wide range of submissions of “high-quality, non-commercial courseware designed to enhance engineering education.” The Premier Award program has been underway for 16 years and has honored 28 winners over this time. More details on the Premier Award and current and previous winners can be found on the Engineering Pathway at: http://www.engineeringpathway.org/engpath/ep/premier/2013/index.jsp

The Engineering Pathway is a portal to high-quality teaching and learning resources in applied science and math, engineering, computer science/information technology and engineering technology, for use by K-12 and university educators and students.

Last year, the 2011 Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware was awarded for M-Model8: An Online Homework Tool for Engineering Mechanics, by Edward Anderson of Texas Tech University. The Premier Award is an annual international competition to recognize high-quality, engaging, non-commercial learning innovations designed to enhance engineering education. We invite you to explore all of the past Premier Award winners and finalists.

The award was presented at the Premier Award Ceremony at the Frontiers in Education Conference, held this year in Rapid City, South Dakota. The award-winning courseware was distributed on a finger drive at the FIE Conference and is also available online. This year’s panel of judges comprised a diverse cross-section of experts in engineering education and interactive media. Sponsors of the award program are John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Microsoft Research, TechSmith and MathWorks.

M-MODEL8 is a full simulation of traditional engineering mechanics homework solutions including free-body diagram construction, known/unknown variables listing and mathematical modeling. M-MODEL8 is an open-ended system that utilizes an intelligent tutor, hints/tips, error checking, grading, iteration and repeated solutions to motivate students, help them practice in-depth thinking, develop their problem solving skills, cause them to reflect and help them develop intellectually. M-MODEL8 goes beyond other homework systems that are linear, rote process that relies upon multi-choice, short answer, pair matching and etc. user interactions and the dictums of the problem designer. M-MODEL8 includes a problem authoring tool that individual instructors may use to modify the provided problems to their tastes and create their own problems.