An experiential course in wireless networks and mobile systems

In spring 2005, for the third time, the electrical and computer engineering faculty and computer science faculty at Virginia Tech are teaching the course Wireless Networks and Mobile Systems, ECE/CS 4570. This course has some particularly interesting features. It offers integrated coverage of a broad set of topics that we would normally find in separate courses, often in different departments. It gives undergraduate students access to cutting-edge topics usually reserved for graduate courses. It also departs from the traditional lecture format to combine lectures with moderated laboratory sessions and at-home exercises and design projects. In this paper, we describe an innovative, senior- and graduate-level course on wireless networks and mobile systems. We discuss the course´s history and guiding principles, the laboratory exercises and design projects, and outcomes, including dissemination activities.