Computer Engineering Education Survival Guide: Our Aims and Expectations

Computer Engineering Education

Survival Guide

Our Aims and Expectations

Dr. Enis Karaarslan

Muğla University / 2012

● These slides are made to give some recommendations to computer engineering students (most of the facts can be generalized to any university student)

● This document can be distributed under the following License:

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

University, lesson, information …

● A small video from ”Son Ders: Aşk ve Üniversite”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RKDQ0txZlIQ

Why are you here?

You are having this education to be a COMPUTER ENGINEER

Motivation

● To become a good engineer● To have a nice and efficient university life● Make learning fun!● ...

Take your time, don't be stressed (Acele etmene ve strese gerek yok ;-) )

● You have 4 years to prepare for your career● The following slides are my

recommendations ...

If something challenges you(Eğer birşey sizi zorluyorsa ...)

If something challenges you,● This means that you are learning something● It is good as long as you are not stressed too

much

Engineering Education

● You are here to learn the fundamentals, the basic concepts, analytic thinking the philosophy

● So that you can Design and form efficient information systems Solve problems Make improvements ....

Problem Solver(Sorun çözücü)

● You will not be a coder, a programmer …● You will be a problem solver

With Analytic thinking ability Who knows an information system in detail

Thinking Wrong (Yanlış düşünmek)

"My teachers know everything I need to know to be an engineer. Their job is to tell it to me in lectures, and my job is to soak it up and then repeat it on exams. If I can do that, I’ve learned it."

WRONG! That approach may have worked in high school but it begins to fail in college, and once you get into the plant or research lab, it stops working completely.

Richard M. Felder[1]

Studying engineering

● People can complain that there are[1] incomprehensible lectures endless homework impossible exams

● Nobody said that it is easy, but it's not that hard!

● At least there are methods to make it easier (or less painful)

No memorization, analytical thinking (Ezberleme değil, çözümleyici düşünme)

● In engineering education No memorization Analytical/critical thinking

● (Learn to) Use your mind ...

UseYourMind

(Zihninizi

kullanın)

Critical Thinking Skills(Eleştirel Düşünme Yetenekleri)

Focus on Learning(Öğrenmeye yoğunlaşmak)

● Recommendations such as: Be prepared for todays lesson (derse hazırlıklı)

Take notes (not tutun)

Short Review after lesson (ders sonrasında kısa tekrar)

Think, research about the subject (konu hakkında düşün, araştır)

Learning by doing (Uygulama ile Öğrenmek)

● I know, you can't (or won't) do all● But the more you do, the more successful you

are

Research Effectively(Etkin Araştırma)

● Search engines● E-mail lists, forums● (Virtual) Library● Wikipedia, blogs …

(details later)

Time Management(zaman yönetimi)

Bad time management = stress

Time can not be managed, you can only manage what you fill your time with

https://enisden.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/zaman-yonetimi/

Working in Daily Basic(günü gününe çalışmak)

If you do not work in daily basic(Günü gününe çalışmazsanız ...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XEhQQDlSJW4

Work Intelligent(Akıllı Çalış)

Study Skills

Don't be afraid to Ask (sormaktan çekinmeyin)

Visualize it(Görselleştir)

● If something seems complex, visualize it: Flow Charts Mind Maps

Continuous Learning(Sürekli öğrenme)

● Learning will never end● You have to learn the new concepts through

your whole life or you are out of the game

Learning by doing(Yaparak öğrenmek)

…

● The more you code, the better● Generate virtual problems and try to generate

solutions

Team work (takım çalışması)

Collaborate(İş Birliği)

Writing Skills(Yazma becerileri)

● Enhance your writing skills Write essays Write blog entries Write …

● You should be able to write reports Enhance your language skills Read, write ...

Language Skills – Know your own language well(Dil Yetenekleri – Öncelikle kendi dilinizi iyi bilin)

Öncelikle, ana dilinizi iyi bir şekilde konuşuyor ve yazabiliyor olmanızın gerekliliğini belirtmek istiyorum. Ortaokulda hocalarımız hep şunu hatırlatırlardı: İngilizceyi iyi öğrenebilmeniz için, öncelikle Türkçe’yi iyi biliyor olmanız gerekir!

Bilgisayar mühendisliği için İngilizce bilmek bir gereklilik. Ingilizce kaynakları anlayabiliyor olmanız gerekiyor.

Enhance your English(no translation :) )

● You can do many things to enhance your English …

Watch films with English subtitles Watch videos from www.ted.com Read books, track Internet sites Form a English speaking club …

● Your English knowledge will be useful everywhere, every time ...

Able to read without paper(Kağıt kullanmadan okumak)

● Do not print, get used to read on computer, tablet …

Contents of technology is changing every moment,

No need to use paper for temporary knowledge

Ethics – Respect Others Work(Ahlak – Başkalarının Çalışmalarına Saygı)

Your work should be original(Çalışmanız özgün olmalıdır)

● Rule 1: Research similar works● Rule 2: Use your own words – not copy/paste● Rule 3: When you cite, put a reference (like [2])

and put the details of the reference at the end of the work.

● Rule 4: If you have to use the phrase as it is (like quotes), you should use it between ” ”.

Use resources wisely(Kaynakları akıllı kullan)

● Resources are limited● Engineer should devise intelligent ways to

make solutions by using this limited resources

An engineer doesn't have to know everything

But should know where to look for the answer

Bir mühendis her şeyi bilmek zorunda değildir ama cevabı bulmak için nereye bakması gerektiğini biliyor olmalıdır.

Believe in yourself(Kendinize inanın)

“Impostor Phenomenon, which is like a tape that plays inside people’s heads …

"These people are good—they understand all this stuff. They really belong here…but I don’t. Over the years I’ve somehow managed to fool them all—my family, my friends, my teachers. They all think I’m smart enough to be here, but I know better…and the very next hard test or hard question I get in class will finally reveal me as the impostor I am."

Believe in yourself(Kendinize inanın)

“What you don’t know is that almost everyone else in the class is playing the same tape ...

Furthermore, the tape is usually wrong. If you survived your first year of engineering school, you almost certainly have what it takes to be an engineer.

Just remember all your predecessors who had the same self-doubts you have now and did just fine.

Believe in yourself(Kendinize inanın)

You do belong here, and you’ll get through it just like they did.

Try to relax and enjoy the trip.”

Richard Felder [1]

Don't give up!(Pes Etme)

University Life(Üniversite Hayatı)

● University is meaningful with Social Clubs (be an active member) Concerts, Seminars about any subject, art

events Sports Hobbies … etc

Be a volunteer in Non Governmental Organizations(Sivil toplum gönüllüsü olun)

● Be a part of the change ● For a better

city/country/world

Be happy where you are(bulunduğunuz yerde mutlu olun)

● Some of you may think of changing department or university

Try it if you want to If you can't change it, it's not the end of the

world! Be happy where you are!

Balanced Life(Dengeli hayat)

● A good social life is possible if you study your lessons on time.

Ders zamanı ders, eğlence zamanı eğlence

Be positive. Have fun!

Keep moving forward

Around here, however, we don't look back for very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. Keep moving forward.

Walt Disney

“Biz buralarda pek geriye bakmayız. İleriye bakar, yeni kapılar açar, yeni işler yaparız. Çünkü biz meraklıyız. Yönümüzü merak tayin eder. İlerlemeye devam et..”

Welcome to this interesting journey …

Bon voyage (Have a good trip)...

Dr. Enis Karaarslan

enis.karaarslan@mu.edu.tr

enis.karaarslan@gmail.com

http://www.karaarslan.net

References

[1] How to survive engineering school, Richard M. Felder

[2] Enisden hayata dair, Enis Karaarslan's personal blog, http://enisden.wordpress.com

Pictures are collected from Internet, there were no signs of any License. If you want them to be removed, please inform.