Active Learning in the Introduction to Digital Logic Design Laboratory Course

The introduction to digital logic design class is in general the first digital course for electrical and computer engineering undergraduate students at many universities.The related laboratory offers students hand-on experience to apply the principles of Boolean algebra and K-maps for minimizing logic expressions, to develop skills on using digital logic chips, to understand sequential circuit operations, to perform basic finite state machine design work and to get ready for more advanced digital logic design study.In order to stimulate students in active learning inside the laboratory, this paper proposes effective technology integration with laboratory instruction including using online tools for logic circuit visualization, applying Multisim for transition to hands-on breadboard hardware experiments, running simulation in Moldelsim and prototyping the digital circuit design using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device.