Teaching programming using embedded systems

Microcontrollers play an increasingly important role in applied computing systems ranging from your toaster to deep space probes. A myriad of objects are embedded with microcontrollers and sensors and have the ability to communicate. The resulting Internet of Things promises to revolutionize information pathways. Are we prepared for this new reality? Within universities, microcontroller courses are typically offered in engineering departments but not in computer science. In this paper, we argue that microcontrollers can be used effectively in a wide variety of computer science and engineering courses. Microcontroller-augmented courses offer a number of advantages as compared to conventional course presentations. A microcontroller is inexpensive and portable and its functionality is largely exposed. Working with a microcontroller helps to demystify the hardware involved in the computing process. These attributes make the microcontroller an “approachable” personable computing device ideally suited for project-based activities. We propose a microcontroller-augmented curriculum and describe a variety of existing course implementations.