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Independent Study for School

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andalf

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Hello all,

I am a college Senior studying computer science. I have a basic understanding of digital circuitry and enjoy working with logic and digital elements. I would like to do a semester long independent study to further my understanding of digital circuitry, preferably with some kind of "final project" that I could display to the school (as is part of the rules for an independent study). I go to a smaller school and we don't have a specifics electronics dept. so I thought I would look online and was brought to this forum. Any ideas of texts, software, or anything else I could use to make this study a reality?

Thanks

Andalf
 
The problem is that you're asking how to be the teacher of yourself about a subject that you don't have a background in. To revoice your question in a manner that might give it some perspective, let me post my own question.
"I am a maturing human being in the world, I have a basic understanding of the world around me and the people in it, but I would like to do a short term independent study to further my understanding of consciousness and the perception of reality, preferably with a 'final project' that I could display to my elders."

I would spend the entire time on the Internet using Wikipedia Google and any knowledge based sites that you can find that supply information in a form that you can absorb. If you don't follow the terms being used look up the terms until you do, you'll find yourself branching out and discovering the complexities of the subject you originally started with that might broaden your horizons a bit more. As far as specific study that's complex because you're talking about generality. True learning isn't as regimented and structured as what you've received in school, doing it on your own and learning how to teach yourself is really all school is for (if you ask me)

Suffice to say, the question was too broad.
 
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You don't say where you live, how much you want to spend on a course, what type of course. All I can say is the cheapest and best way to learn electronics is to build lots and lots of projects. My most successful students simply built lots of projects. These students are now programmers and run their own businesses.
Once you say you have built 50 or more projects, and let us know what you have built, we can suggest further paths to take.
Anyone who wants to do a course and make a "final project" is just fooling themselves.
I want to be a "brain surgeon," so give me a brain, it will dissect it and now I'm a brain surgeon.
 
I understand now what the problem is. Unfortunately, simply doing research and presenting about my findings isn't considered enough for credit at my school. I have to have concrete projects that I work on and complete to turn in if I wish to receive credit for a class.

I live in Northeast IN. The course would be a combination of computer science and physics. Using digital logic, and building the circuits either through software or physically building some of them.

I took a class on circuitry, but we only spent a few weeks at the end of the semester covering digital circuits, and since I need some credits to add to my semester I thought studying this would be a good way to broaden my understanding and challenge myself at the same time.

Sorry for the foolish starter question, and thanks for the replies
 
I guess what I'd like to do is end up being able to build (physically or just with a diagram and software) something like a simple calculator. I know there is software out there, but I don't know what any of it is, or even how difficult something like a simple calculator would be to build.
 
What's Northwest IN? Indiana or India? One is a few hundred miles away, the other is nearly 9000
 
You want to really wow them? Build a simple physical implementation of a 3-layer neural net that you train to discriminate TRUE or FALSE (lighting a single LED, perhaps) based on the input of two logic level signals; that is, build a neural net that can emulate logic gates (after training). Such a neural net can be made using discrete components (if you have the time); transistors, capacitors, and resistors, for instance (there are examples online of physical neural nets).
 
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