[sdiy] Should GaTech go bananas?

[limor]

> I'm about to put in an order to Paul for some MOTM stuff for my students
> to build in my Spring synth theory & design class (after some thinking, I
> decided this time around to go with one manufacurer for consistency.
> Enough people have signed up that I'm sure the department would let me
> offer it again, and I'll have some funding for educational stuff kicking
> in this summer to buy synth stuff next year, so maybe next year I'll do
> Blacet.) One of the first HW assignments will be - split up into teams, #
> teams = number of modules, # persons per team depends on complexity of
> module, build the module, make it work.
>
> Maybe have them design a full module from scratch would be too much for
> one semester - I'm also not sure how to prevent people from dishonestly
> plagarizing a schematic on the net and claiming it's theirs. Maybe it will
> instead be something like "take a schematic on the net, change the design
> around, see what effect that has..."

But... Whats the point of taking a synth design class and then
building some other guy's modules? You dont need "MOTM" or whatever
modules to design a synth, for chrissakes, its all in Horowitz & Hill!
So: teach theory & assign reasonable labs. A LPF filter here, a
saw/square/sine(!) oscillator here, a log converter there. (They know
what an op-amp is, right?) Hook them up in the end & maybe you get a
synth. Yeah it would be nice if they got boards and partslists. But
then how the hell would they learn anything? Also, having one module
to take home ain't so useful, and they're waaay too expensive for
students. As for plagiarism, spec the labs so they have to know what
they're designing, & have short written component. They'll cheat
anyways but when it comes to final check-offs, either their labkit
works or it doesn't. while copying is replete, barely anybody will
build stuff for others when it comes down to the wire. Just trust me
on that one.

bitch bitch, moan moan, whats education coming to? :)

   limor