UT.6.01x : the first Embedded Systems MOOC with hardware requirement
I am happy to announce the launch of UT.6.01x on edX (https://www.edx.org/course/utaustinx/utaustinx-ut-6-01x-embedded-systems-1172). UT.6.01x is an online course (aka MOOC) that serves as an introduction to embedded systems. The teaches students core concepts of embedded engineering on the Tiva Launchpad, an ARM Cortex M4 micro controller board. The basics of C programming, ARM Thumb2 assembly, blinking LED’s, finite state machines and much more are covered in the course, all culminating in a final project where students write a space invaders like game that utilizes push buttons and an external display. The course is unique in that it is the first online embedded systems course that requires hardware as an offline component. I highly suggest the course for anyone interested in embedded systems, whether you are looking to learn as a begginner or need a refresher and are looking to move to ARM microcontrollers.
Now, that said, I have to brag about my contribution to the course. Over the last 6 months I have had the pleasure of working with Professor Jonathan Valvano, Professor Ramesh Yerraballi and the entire #UTEmbeddedSys team at the University of Texas at Austin on the development of UT.6.01x. During the initial planning of the course I helped flush out possible IDE’s as grading mechanisms. Further I helped develop the website, wrote a custom parts search application that used the Octopart API to source boards and parts to give students around the world real time pricing information and point out the lowest cost parts for their kits. I wrote javascript examples that leveraged SVG graphics. Further I served as corporate liaison to Digi-Key, element14/newark/farnell, built and ran the social media campaign across Google+ Facebook and Twitter with Google Analytics, and helped facilitate logistics of kit shipments worldwide. I am very happy to say that we surpassed our initial enrollment numbers by 3x, have kits shipping worldwide with competitive pricing through multiple vendors, and have an excellent report with our community.
