Using Digilent embedded systems in Internet education

This paper has the purpose of introducing a new approach regarding the study of AVR microcontrollers, such as the ATmega64L, by using one of Digilent´s development boards and peripheral modules which give the opportunity of implementing demo applications. It brings a plus of innovation by allowing students or hobbyists from every part of the world to consult and use the set of lab projects, which will be posted on the Digilent website. Even though there are other ways to study A VR microcontrollers, this one is more practical and easier to use. One of the reasons is the usage of affordable and available hardware, from Digilent, and free software from Atmel and Digilent websites. Each lab project is created with the purpose of bringing new information based on what has already been learnt in the previous ones and offers the possibility of exercising with specific tasks and complete answers. The answers are not available on the website; they will be given at the teachers´ request. The projects are simple enough to be used with didactic purposes and complex enough to allow the integration in larger applications or to create reference projects for the modules used. These allow the students to understand the features of a microcontroller and their use in implementing and optimizing the applications.