Using hypermedia for complex technologies education

Complex technologies are very difficult to explain because they include a lot of related concepts comprising a large number of nonexcluding or excluding subconcepts. Usually, complex technologies education is based on the analysis of specific devices of several manufacturers, but this method is not suitable because it gives only a particular insight. This situation demands a new methodology that summarizes all the characteristics of a particular technology and makes a dynamic link between the related concepts possible. From this perspective this paper describes an original method for the characterization of complex technologies and proposes the hypermedia technique as a suitable solution for its practical implementation. The method has been applied for teaching programmable logic devices (PLDs), a very complex technology that constitutes one of the most dynamic areas of microelectronics.