Cross platform methods in digital electronics engineering education

Rapid technological progress and increasing student attrition challenge engineering educators to find innovative teaching methods. Universities are required to implement and use many new technologies and harmonize them with the goal of a fast and thorough learning process. The actual paper provides a guide on how to combine various hardware and software platforms for effective and attractive digital design education. Graphical Programming and Simulation Software (like LabVIEW, Multisim etc.) are intuitive and powerful tools that boost the interest of students in engineering and science studies. These software programs combined with NI ELVIS platform with Digital Electronics FPGA board, XUP Spartan 3E Starter Board and/or Digilent NEXYS 3 board, based on XILINX FPGA's, offer a great flexibility to implement - and make easy for students to understand - Digital Electronics laboratory applications.