Resumen de Project-Based Learning in “Practical Development of Electronic Systems” Course, Weaknesses and Strengths in the Context Imposed by the COVID-19 Disease

Jesús Manuel Hernández Mangas, Jesús Arias Álvarez

• We present the development planning of the subject “Practical Development of Electronic Systems” using the project-based learning strategy. The planning stages include: project specification; electronic design and schematic capture; the design and manufacture of printed circuit boards; the implementation, simulation and debugging of the firmware; the assembly, verification and characterization of the hardware; and finally the project documentation. All of this describe the main stages of engineering from the first sketch to the final and complete realization of a portable game console. The initial project seeks to make a video game console, compatible with games of a computer from the 80s: the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Plan B involves the realization of a video game in native mode as a consequence of the difficulty of completing the initial objective in the duration of the subject. Students motivation, obtained with the project-based learning method and the project proposal, is very high. In addition, a SWOT analysis of the adaptation to synchronous telematic teaching is carried out, within the context given by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. As conclusions we want to say that, despite not having been able to carry out the physical and face-to-face development stages of the project included in the initial planning, motivation remained very high, without dropouts, and the project was ended by all.