Learning signal processing using interactive notebooks

Signal processing is now being used in many disciplines of engineering because of the omnipresence of desktop computers and sophisticated application environments. Many concepts involved in signal processing are difficult to learn because: they are embedded in discrete mathematics and not easy to visualize; and the background in which to embed the learning is lacking. This usually leads to erroneous implementation of a technique and difficulty in finding relevance of the material. In order to address these issues and teaching techniques such as frequency analysis and signal modeling, a series of interactive notebooks have been developed. These notebooks are written in the integrated environment of Microsoft Word and MATLAB. Each notebook presents a principle and demonstrates its implementation via script in MATLAB. The student is then asked to exercise other aspects of the principle interactively by making simple changes in the MATLAB script. The student then receives immediate feedback concerning what is happening and can relate theoretical concepts to real effects upon a signal. He is finally required to implement the learned procedure on a signal from a database of actual measurements. Signals measured from real-world applications are used as much as possible. Students enjoy learning in this environment because it helps them visualize immediately the results of the mathematical manipulations and enables them to explore interactively.