jbwaters@bsu-cs.UUCP (J. Brian Waters) (01/14/89)
I presently know the software end of microcomputers reasonable well, and would like to learn about the hardware. I have been considering taking once of the home study courses I have seen advertised. Is this a good way to learn? If so what are some of the better home study schools? If not, what would be a good way to learn? -- Brian Waters <backbone>!{iuvax|pur-ee}!bsu-cs!jbwaters uunet!---/
larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (01/16/89)
In article <5340@bsu-cs.UUCP>, jbwaters@bsu-cs.UUCP (J. Brian Waters) writes: > I presently know the software end of microcomputers reasonable well, and > would like to learn about the hardware. I have been considering taking one > of the home study courses I have seen advertised. Is this a good way to > learn? If so > what are some of the better home study schools? If not, > what would be a good way to learn? The proper course of action depends upon how seriously you _really_ want to learn about electronics. If you are serious, then I would recommend taking a beginning course in electronic technology at a 2-year community college on an evening basis. You will probably spend less money and get a MUCH better education if you take a community college course with a human instructor WHO CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IN PERSON. I have known a few people who have taken correspondence courses, and the lack of the ability to clarify points of misunderstanding is a serious drawback. Of course, you may have no choice if there is no 2-year college available to you, or your schedule does not permit it. I have heard that DeVry is one of the better corespondence schools, and they have been in business for well over 30 years. <> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York <> UUCP: {allegra|ames|boulder|decvax|rutgers|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry <> VOICE: 716/688-1231 {att|hplabs|mtune|utzoo|uunet}!/ <> FAX: 716/741-9635 {G1,G2,G3 modes} "Have you hugged your cat today?"
myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) (01/17/89)
Check out the local community colleges and voctaional/technical schools. Many of these have fine programs in basic electronics. Stick with accredited schools only, as you will be a bit more certain of the quality of instruction, and the credits will be transferable later on to a four-year college, should you choose to go that route. I have no personal experience with home-study, but as a community college instructor, I think that the students learn faster when there's an instructor around to provide "instant" feedback, and to direct the course of study for the student. This is particularly true with the "hands-on" (lab) experience. Of course, I may be a little biaesed....:-) Bob Myers KC0EW HP Graphics Tech. Div.| Opinions expressed here are not Ft. Collins, Colorado | those of my employer or any other {the known universe}!hplabs!hpfcla!myers | sentient life-form on this planet.
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (01/18/89)
In article <2931@kitty.UUCP> larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes: > Of course, you may have no choice if there is no 2-year college >available to you, or your schedule does not permit it... Of course you still have a choice. The alternative to correspondence courses is to buy a few textbooks and start reading them and doing the problems. It means you're strictly on your own if you hit problems, but buying (say) two different books in hopes that they will help you over each other's rough spots is a whole lot cheaper and more convenient than a correspondence course. If you don't insist on being spoon-fed everything, this can be a very effective way to learn. -- "God willing, we will return." | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology -Eugene Cernan, the Moon, 1972 | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) (01/24/89)
>than a correspondence course. If you don't insist on being spoon-fed >everything, this can be a very effective way to learn. I would agree that this *may* be a very effective way to learn for *some* students, with a couple of caveats: The vast majority of textbooks for electronics are inadequate without *some* type of supervision/feedback/verbal instruction. The problem is, that while they are very good at presenting tons of formulas and their applications, they do very little to enhance a student's *understanding* of what's going on. It is always better to have an understanding of the principles involved than to have a perfect recollection of reams of apparently-mystical formulas. The student who has learned nothing more than the formulas, by rote, will be completely lost when encountering problems which do not match the very specific conditions under which those formulas were derived. I'm not saying that you *can't* gain an understanding of electronics through textbooks alone, but my experience as an instructor is that about 90% of the students will be far better off in a classroom environment than on their own. Bob Myers KC0EW HP Graphics Tech. Div.| Opinions expressed here are not Ft. Collins, Colorado | those of my employer or any other {the known universe}!hplabs!hpfcla!myers | sentient life-form on this planet.
jim@nih-csl.UUCP (jim sullivan) (01/24/89)
In article <16750012@hpfcdj.HP.COM> myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) writes: > >Check out the local community colleges and voctaional/technical schools. >Many of these have fine programs in basic electronics. Stick with >accredited schools only, as you will be a bit more certain of the quality >of instruction, and the credits will be transferable later on to a four-year >college, should you choose to go that route. > >I have no personal experience with home-study, but as a community college >instructor, I think that the students learn faster when there's an >instructor around to provide "instant" feedback, and to direct the course >of study for the student. This is particularly true with the "hands-on" >(lab) experience. Of course, I may be a little biaesed....:-) I agree but they can be inconvienient and expensive. An alternative may be video tape courses. I think Heath electronics has one. You get the tapes, a book and hardware. I find home study almost impossible because there is no instructor but video courses are much easier to learn from. I saw the Heath courses at a local Heathkit electronics store many (~6) years ago. Maybe others on the net can point to other sources. Jim jim@nih-csl.dcrt.nih.gov
murray@jumbo.dec.com (Hal Murray) (01/30/89)
Another idea worth considering... See if you can arrange your job to get you closer to the hardware. There are lots of hardware guys who don't know or like software. They need somebody to write code when they are checking out their new widget. If you are working with one of them when they locate a bug, they will probably take time out to explain what is going wrong. Frequently that leads to understanding how it was supposed to work and/or how some other part that works right works does its thing. If you are interested in books, I suggest Horrowitz and Hill, The Art of Electronics. There is something in there for everybody. I think there is a lab workbook and/or problem set, but I don't have a copy. It does a real good job of covering the practical aspects of electronics, the real world as compared to theory.
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (02/09/89)
In article <13544@jumbo.dec.com> murray@jumbo.dec.com (Hal Murray) writes: >If you are interested in books, I suggest Horrowitz and Hill, The Art of >Electronics... I second this recommendation. For digital stuff in particular, any book by Don Lancaster is at least worth a look (although some of them have gotten pretty dated now). -- Allegedly heard aboard Mir: "A | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology toast to comrade Van Allen!!" | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu