DSP first-a first course in ECE

This paper describes a new course that we have developed for computer engineering students. The course, which precedes a traditional course in circuit analysis and a more traditional signals and systems course, combines a traditional textbook and lectures with computer-based demonstrations and hands-on laboratory experience to show how mathematics and computers can be used to understand and solve problems in signal processing applications. An essential part of the course is a computer-based lab where students listen to sounds and see the results of image processing in order to develop intuition for frequency content and filtering. This intuitive connection is central to our approach; it is our attempt to have students relate the physical attributes of certain signals to the mathematical formulas manipulated in system theory. The course materials, including demos, labs, and homework problems and solutions are packaged in a form that can be accessed from the WWW using standard browsers. The same material is also available on a CD-ROM as an integral part of a new text for the course.