Development of an Application-Oriented Wireless Communication Networks Course for Engineering Technology Program

The use of wireless networks continues to grow rapidly. New wireless technologies and standards are keeping on emerging. To prepare the graduates in Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) program with the ability to understand and apply wireless networking technology, an application-oriented wireless communication networks course is developed. Typically there are two different types of wireless networking classes and textbooks: one is more theoretical and designed for computer science or electrical engineering students, the other is more device specific and certificate-oriented. The development of this wireless communication networks course emphasizes the application-oriented experience for engineering technology students and the balance between general fundamental-based lectures and device specific hands-on laboratories. The tradeoffs between covering broad wireless topics and studying in-depth on specific topics are also discussed.