Teaching introductory courses in electrical engineering to engineering majors-new tools and context

In many engineering disciplines, students take introductory courses in electrical engineering. The aim is to acquire an understanding of basic principles and an ability to solve simple problems by first-order approximate analysis. The courses, however, are taught outside the context of a student's major field, and require special considerations. The environment, constraints, and shortcomings that arise from lack of context are reviewed. More active learning by the student and extensive feedback between the teacher and the student are necessary to overcome the shortcomings. This requires more time and financial resources which are generally not available. Technology assisted instruction (TAI) can product smart textbooks and provide smart interactive tutorials and tests which improve the learning and cost-effectiveness in the course. A smart interactive tests for evaluating students' understanding of electric circuits principles and improving their knowledge in this subject through programmed self-instruction is also reported.<<ETX>>