Tekbots/sup TM/: creating excitement for engineering through community, innovation and troubleshooting

Attracting, educating and retaining new engineering students is a challenge. The creative aspirations and "can do" attitude spawned by the space race, Heathkits, and homemade crystal radios have been replaced with the passive satisfaction of video games, cell phones and throwaway electronic appliances. At Oregon State University the authors have made a fundamental change in their presentation of electrical engineering to freshmen by using a robot platform they call TekBots. They are emphasizing innovation, community building, and troubleshooting. Their aim is to put the fun and excitement back into electrical engineering and thus retain and inspire new students. This ultimately will extend throughout the curriculum using the robot as a platform for learning. Rather than a single point project, the robot becomes the integration platform for learning and experimentation in almost every class for four years.