PI: Prof. Mahesh Patil, Department of Electrical Engineering

Co-PI: Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla, Dept. of Electrical Engineering

Fellow: Minu Martin (2019-21)

Active learning, in which students learn by participating in an activity in the class, is known to be more effective than the traditional method where students are passive recipients of knowledge being presented by the teacher. In this project, a mobile app has been developed to promote active learning in the areas of electronics and power. The app is based on the circuit simulator SEQUEL developed at IIT Bombay, and is meant for engineering and BSc students. It allows the user to simulate specific circuits and also to change circuit parameters and view their effect on circuit performance. The app is used as follows: The teacher teaches the basic concepts related to a topic using a numerical example as illustration. The students are then asked, “How will the output voltage change if this resistance value is changed from X to Y (for example)?”” The students work out the solution for the new problem and check out their answers with the help of the app. The ability to validate their analytic results using an app makes the learning process exciting and interesting for the students. Because of the visual inputs (simulation results), the students would learn and retain the subject matter more effectively.