Basic Digital Logic Gates
Emulator: A Learning Tool for Kids and Adults
Creators:
· Benjamin Miller
· Mason Marshall
Faculty
Advisor: Dr. Rohit Dua
System Description:
The goal of
this project was to find a fun and innovative way to teach children about
digital logic gates. An interactive system was designed, built and demonstrated
that allows the user to understand the functioning of basic 2-input logic
gates.
System Block Diagram
The interactive
system comprises of the facility to select, by the teacher, the 2-input gate
under study and the method to excite the logic gate input. It was desired to
make the learning tool fun with an innovative method, to change the gate input
logic level, which would mimic a “magic show”. This feature was implemented using
two beams of light falling on their respective photoresistors.
Letting the light fall on the photoresistors, along
with associated electronic circuitry (Circuit Diagram: ),
allows logic 0 (low voltage level) as the input into the gate. Blocking the
light, with the hand, allows logic 1 (high voltage level) as the input into the
gate. Children enter logic 1 by using their hands to block the beam of light
from hitting the photoresistor. The logic levels are
transmitted to the logic gate, which is housed in an Altera® DE II FPGA board.
The multifunctional 2-input gate was created using Quartus®
II software (Circuit Diagram:). The teacher can select
the logic gate, under study, using switches on the Altera® board. The logic
gate could be switched between AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and XNOR gates. The
output of the device is connected to an LED matrix, which lights up when logic
gate output is high.
Overall System
Sample Videos: Click on a picture to view the YouTube
video
System
Overview Demo 1
Demo 2 Demo
3
Demo 4
Demonstration Venue:
·
Missouri
Society of Professional Engineers (MSPE) sponsored Discover Engineering Day
held on February 22, 2014, at the Cooperative Engineering program, Missouri
State University (MSU), Springfield, MO
Observational Conclusions:
·
The
interactive system was found to be fun to use and had a certain “wow” and
“cool” factor to it.
·
Children
found the tool easy to use. They could test each input condition, for a
particular logic gate, multiple times to allow the information to “sink in”.
·
The
interactive learning session helped increase the children’s curiosity about a
digital system. They were eager to learn more about the subject matter. When
told that all modern-day electronic products, including cell phones and video
game hardware, for example, were made from basic logic gates, they were excited
about learning more.
·
Older
children were able to retain more information than younger kids. They were able
to predict the behavior of complimentary gates better than younger kids.
·
The
younger kids found the tool to be fun to use. They needed help with predicting
the behavior of the complimentary gates. It is anticipated that their knowledge
would increase if they spent more time practicing with the system.
·
Adults
also found the tool to be very informative and interesting.
Future Work:
·
While
the system is fully functional, the teaching delivery and student’s information
retention testing methodology needs to be improved. Future work will
concentrate on developing better assessment methods to see whether a student
has actually learnt the working of logic gates.
·
Designing
a better system. It is anticipated that hand held units, resembling toys, can
help improve a child’s understanding of the working of the logic gates if it
can be made into a puzzle form. Efforts will focus on the development of such
systems.
Acknowledgements: The design group is
grateful to Dr. Douglas Carroll, Director of the Cooperative Engineering
program, for providing the required components to build the system.
The Design Team: Mason Marshall (left), Benjamin Miller
(right), Dr. Rohit Dua (far
right)
Missouri University of Science and Technology/Missouri State
University, Cooperative Electrical Engineering Program, Springfield, MO
© 2014 Rohit Dua, Benjamin Miller, Mason Marshall. All Rights Reserved.