Facilitating Interdisciplinary Hands-On Learning Using LabVIEW*

The College-wide Integrated Teaching and Learning (ITL) Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science serves six departments and more than 2,400 undergraduate students. The ITL hands-on learning approach places a strong emphasis on enhancing engineering education through the integration of experiments that use computerized data acquisition, and incorporate the latest sensors and test and measurement equipment, to demonstrate the application of fundamental engineering concepts in a real-world context. Experiments are shared by several departments and used at multiple levels. Examples of these experiments are described with special focus on how LabVIEW is used to implement data acquisition strategies that include simple voltage measurements of a fluid flow system, digital processing of audio signals and dynamic feedback control of a classical mechanical oscillator.