Engineering Education Archives

April 21, 2022April 21, 2022

5 Simple DIY Arduino Projects for Beginners and Hobbyists

It is exciting to see how the maker movement has taken off which encourages people to learn how to create things from scratch. Arduino is one of the most popular microcontrollers in the maker and hacker community because of its accessibility and flexibility. Because Arduino was designed to be beginner-friendly, people who are new to programming and electronics can create functional or artistic projects quickly. From wearable Arduino devices to home automation, this simple and versatile board allows for a wide spectrum of possibilities.

April 14, 2022April 21, 2022

4 DIY IoT Projects to Turn Your House Into a Smart Home

The Internet of Things (IoT) provides a way for people to make their home living smarter and easier. However, incorporating IoT technology into your home can be cost-prohibitive since a smart home system can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.

But turning your living space into a smart home does not need to be expensive – it just takes a little know-how, a little time, and a suitable microcontroller board. Just follow the guide and you will see how easy it can be to build your own smart home. Here are 4 DIY IoT smart home projects that software hackers, hobbyists, and beginners can build to turn your house into a smart home.

March 24, 2022March 24, 2022

5 Best Free Online Circuit Simulators for PCB Design

Sahara Cloud platform with circuit simulation feature

Circuit simulators are often used during the PCB design process to help verify how electrical components interact with each other.

There are several different types of softwares for designing electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards, and they are commonly categorized as Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools.

Digital circuits are often designed and built with software using specific programming languages. On the other hand, analog circuits needs to be designed by SPICE-type (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) simulator.

Depending on the complexity of features, EDA softwares can range from $0 to hundreds and thousands of dollars. We compiled a list of free online circuit builders that are great for developers who are looking for easy to use circuit simulators that won’t break the bank.

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022

Best Makerspaces for Sharing DIY Tech Projects

Just built a cool DIY tech project that you’re proud of? Want to meet like-minded hackers who enjoy working on interesting electronics projects? Join a makerspace to be involved in the maker community!

Joining a maker space is a great way to:

Share your DIY projects to get feedback
Attend themed maker events and classes
Meet and collaborate with other like-minded hackers
Learn new trends in the hardware/DIY space
Get new DIY project ideas

If you are wondering where to find a makerspace that suit your needs, we’ve compiled a list of best makerspaces ranging from local maker workshops to online hobbyist communities:

January 29, 2022February 7, 2022

3 Best Embedded Boards for Hardware Development

If you’re starting out on your embedded development journey, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming when there are so many different boards and microcontrollers on the market. In this post, we are breaking down common embedded development boards and focusing on three boards that are popular for beginner and intermediate developers.

November 19, 2021January 31, 2022

4 Best Online Courses to Learn Embedded Systems

Whether you are a beginner who wants to tinker with hardware, or a professional developer looking to refresh and supplement your knowledge, online embedded systems courses are a great way to learn new skills at a low cost and with flexible schedule.

Below is a list of online embedded systems courses taught by experienced instructors that we recommend (and verified by tens and thousands of students). These courses are ideal for beginners, intermediate students, as well as experts.

October 28, 2021January 31, 2022

4 Ways to Teach Electrical Engineering Online

The COVID-19 pandemic has a profound impact on the way we operate. One of the areas that the pandemic has changed is the way instructors teach, especially for subjects that require hands-on instruction. Electrical engineering is one of the challenging subjects that require instructors to come up with creative ways to adjust to remote teaching.

We’ve spoken to over 50 professors that teach embedded systems and electrical engineering at top US engineering programs such as Cornell, MIT, Stanford to understand the main challenges of teaching remotely. Below we summarized the most common ways professors used to teach remotely.

January 11, 2021February 1, 2022

How Sahara can Transform Remote Learning in Engineering Education

During our journey of finding Sahara’s product market fit, our team has conducted over 70 hours of customer interviews to learn about various pain points during the embedded development process and how our product can best solve these problems.

One of the things we discovered from our customer research was how urgent embedded engineering programs need a solution that can solve the problems that are exacerbated by remote learning. Through 30+ interviews with professors, teaching assistants, and students, we have identified three main pain points that engineering education programs currently experience: