Custom microcontroller platform increases student satisfaction, engagement and learning

Many platforms exist for teaching microcontroller skills, however some of these platforms have drawbacks for teaching third year electrical engineering students, especially students that do not yet have programming skills. In the past, some universities have developed custom platforms. However, custom platform development was hampered by high manufacturing costs. In addition, these efforts have required large coordination efforts between multiple programs as well as industry donations. With the advent of affordable 3-D printers and computer controlled PCB milling machines, it is no longer as difficult to design, develop and build a custom microcontroller platform. This paper describes the custom microcontroller platform developed at Central Queensland University. In addition, this paper describes how this change in platform improved student satisfaction, engagement and learning. This paper will be of interest to those that teach microcontroller concepts.