Exploring Digital Information Technologies for Non-Engineers
NOTE: This is an older version of the course website. The current version can be found here.
Logistics
Lectures
Mondays & Wednesdays, 11:00am – 11:50am at 3081 ECEB
Labs
Fridays, 10:00am – 11:50am at 2025 CIF
Office Hours
Prof. Lumetta
Thursdays 3:00pm – 5:00pm on Zoom
Prof. Roy Choudhury
TBA
Shreyas Kishore
TBA
Recent Announcements
Exam 2
Exam 2 will be on Wednesday, Mar 30 11:00am at 3081 ECEB (usual lecture location). The exam will be 1 hour long. You are allowed 1 letter-size (8.5� × 11�) cheat sheet (you may use both sides). The exam is closed book/notes, and calculators are not allowed.
This exam will test concepts covered in the Intelligence & Implications module. You can find the relevant study guide here.
In-Person Meetings Starting Wednesday 3/2
Calendar
Introduction
Past & Present — Connecting the World
- Mon, Jan 24
- Wed, Jan 26
- Fri, Jan 28
- Mon, Jan 31
- Wed, Feb 2
- Fri, Feb 4
- Mon, Feb 7
- Wed, Feb 9
- Fri, Feb 11
- Mon, Feb 14
- Wed, Feb 16
- Fri, Feb 18
Intelligence & Implications
- Mon, Feb 21
- Wed, Feb 23
-
- Exam 1
- Info / Study Guide / Cats
- Fri, Feb 25
-
- No Lab
- Mon, Feb 28
- Wed, Mar 2
- Fri, Mar 4
- Mon, Mar 7
- Wed, Mar 9
- Fri, Mar 11
- Sat, Mar 12
- Spring Break Begins 🥳
- Sun, Mar 20
- Spring Break Ends 😔
- Mon, Mar 21
- Wed, Mar 23
- Fri, Mar 25
- Mon, Mar 28
- Wed, Mar 30
-
- Exam 2
- Info / Study Guide / Mango
- Fri, Apr 1
-
- No Lab
Future
- Mon, Apr 4
- Wed, Apr 6
- Fri, Apr 8
- Mon, Apr 11
- Wed, Apr 13
- Fri, Apr 15
- Mon, Apr 18
- Wed, Apr 20
- Fri, Apr 22
-
Lab 10- Cancelled (Sorry!)
- Mon, Apr 25
- Wed, Apr 27
-
- Exam 3
- Info / Study Guide
- Fri, Apr 29
-
- No Lab
Fun Week
Course Staff
Instructors
Teaching Assistants
Syllabus
This course will give students from outside of Engineering an under-the-hood view of 12 important technologies that will impact their daily lives in the next decade. For each technology, students will
- understand the core technical challenges in realizing the technology,
- gain intuition on how the challenges are being solved,
- appreciate how such technologies translate to business and revenue, and
- identify implications in areas such as privacy, fairness, policy, ethics, and other paradigm shifts.
Technical subjects to be considered include basics of sensing, computing, communication, and control, the 4 pillars of technology. To help students better relate to the topics discussed in the course, each technology will be highlighted using one or more well-established companies (e.g., Comcast, ATT, Google, Facebook, ADT, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, Verisign).
Exam Information
The course has three midterm exams. There will not be any final exam. More information on midterm logistics, format, and grading will be released soon.
Exam 1
Exam 1 will be on Wednesday, Feb 23 11:00am at 241 CSL (Coordinated Science Laboratory). The exam will be 1 hour long. You are allowed 1 letter-size (8.5� × 11�) cheat sheet (you may use both sides). The exam is closed book/notes, and calculators are not allowed.
This exam will test concepts covered in the Past & Present module.
Study Guide
Here are some resources to help you prepare for Exam 1:
- Professor Lumetta’s Study Guide
- Professor Roy Choudhury’s Study Guide
- Exam 1 Review Session Video
Exam 2
Exam 2 will be on Wednesday, Mar 30 at 11:00am at 3081 ECEB (usual lecture location). The exam will be approximately 1 hour long. You are allowed 1 letter-size (8.5� × 11�) cheat sheet (you may use both sides). The exam is closed book/notes, and calculators are not allowed.
This exam will test concepts covered in the Intelligence & Implications module.
Study Guide
Please have a look at the Exam 2 Study Guide to prepare for the exam.
Exam 3
Exam 3 will be on Wednesday, Apr 27 at 11:00am. The exam will be approximately 1 hour long. You are allowed 1 letter-size (8.5� × 11�) cheat sheet (you may use both sides). The exam is closed book/notes, and calculators are not allowed.
This exam will test concepts covered in the Future module.
Study Guide
Here are some resources to help you prepare for Exam 3:
Grading Information
- Midterm exams: 3 × 20%
- Hands-on exercises / Labs: 30%
- Participation: 10%
All Announcements
Exam 2
Exam 2 will be on Wednesday, Mar 30 11:00am at 3081 ECEB (usual lecture location). The exam will be 1 hour long. You are allowed 1 letter-size (8.5� × 11�) cheat sheet (you may use both sides). The exam is closed book/notes, and calculators are not allowed.
This exam will test concepts covered in the Intelligence & Implications module. You can find the relevant study guide here.
In-Person Meetings Starting Wednesday 3/2
Exam 1
Exam 1 will be on Wednesday, Feb 23 11:00am at 241 CSL (Coordinated Science Laboratory). The exam will be 1 hour long. You are allowed 1 letter-size (8.5� × 11�) cheat sheet (you may use both sides). The exam is closed book/notes, and calculators are not allowed.
This exam will test concepts covered in the Past & Present module. You can find the relevant study guides and review video here.
Vox Video: How Does the Internet Work?
As Prof. Romit pointed out, Vox has an explainer on YouTube explaining how the internet works. I encourage you to watch it here: https://youtu.be/TNQsmPf24go. You would already know most of the ideas from that video, but it’s still entertaining to watch and it should help reinforce certain concepts.
Some quick reminders
I hope you’re as excited about this new semester as I am. Before we get started, here is a quick list of reminders:
- Our first lecture will be tomorrow, Jan 19th, from 11:00am to 11:50am Central Time on Zoom. You can join using this link, or using:
Meeting ID:892 9141 3832
Password:269962 - Please make sure your Zoom app is updated (download link). People have had trouble this semester attending classes with older versions of Zoom.
- We will use Slack for discussion and questions. Please use this invite link to add yourself to our Slack workspace. I suggest using your university email or university Google account to sign up for Slack. Please let me know if you have any trouble.
- I suggest having a look at (and bookmarking) the course website. It has all information, announcements, and links you’d need about this course. We have also uploaded the slides for the first couple of lectures (if you’d want to have a look); you can find them in the course calendar on the website.
I hope you have a great start to your semester. See you all soon!
Welcome to the new edition of ECE 101! �
We are excited to start the new semester. Profs. Roy Choudhury and Lumetta put this course together with the hope of helping students (from all departments) understand and ponder about modern technologies that have changed and will continue to change people’s lives in the coming decade. Shreyas is a senior ECE student with extensive experience on our course staff, who volunteered to join us for his passion for motivating non-engineers about STEM ideas.
As you may already know, we have made some major changes to the course content and structure, so please ignore any old descriptions that you might find online—this page and our introductory lecture will tell you about the plans for this and coming semesters.
If you have friends who you think might also be interested in joining our class, please encourage them to do so this semester (or next). We’re also interested in hearing how you learned about our class, as we do want to attract more students.
As you know, the first week of classes must be online, and while we’re eager to meet you face-to-face, COVID is rampant in Champaign. We feel that continued online meetings are likely for some time.
Sincerely,
The ECE 101 Course Staff