by Jeff Anderson, Mike Sasnett, Hayden Seto, Chris Sakurada, Jose Espina, and David Lu at SunnyTech Inc.

Welcome

In this project, we created an Electronics Learning Laboratory Kit to empower students studying engineering, mathematics, and physics to discover STEM theory through direct observation and measurements. Specifically, we developed custom-built dc power blocks (P-Blocks) that are easy-to-use, inexpensive to reproduce, portable, and safe.  As a result of this manufacturing project done by our team, untrained students can enjoy electronics modeling activities in almost all learning environments. These components can be used in any classroom and do not require special facilities, not even a power outlet. This is particularly useful for virtual environments and at-home learning in STEM Courses.

The P-blocks we developed were turned into a viable commercial product and are now part of four STEM classes at Foothill College including Math 2B, Engr 11, Engr 37L, and Physics 4B. As of May 2021, over 160 Foothill students have used these P-Blocks to power their learning and drive discovery.  Our team is currently in talks with two other community colleges in the Bay Area to help STEM instructors at those schools leverage these devices to improve student learning.

On this page, we highlight some of the back story behind these P-Blocks and provide some useful resources for folks who want to learn more about these components. This Power Block Project is very much related to my Electrify the Linear-Systems Project. To learn more about Electrify the Linear-Systems, click the button below:

2021 Foothill College Research and Service Learning Symposium

In 2021, Foothill College sponsored a Research and Service Learning Symposium (RSLS). The RSLS provided students an opportunity to expand their learning beyond the walls of the classroom, to investigate their world through in-depth research projects, to contribute to our campus community. Students also gained experience presenting in a professional conference setting on the virtual campus through presentations and discussion. On May 20, 2021, Chris Sakurda and Hayden Seto (two of my previous students) gave a presentation at the RSLS. By clicking the button below, you can access the slides for this presention

Below is the video version of this presentation.

Student Design Project: Chris Sakurada and Hayden Seto

For more about the story of this design process from Chris and Hayden, please take a look at the longer interview available below.

Broader Impacts

This project has lead to some powerful learning experiences for Foothill College students. Below are some testimonials from students who got to use the P-Blocks inside Math and Engineering classes at Foothill College. This provides some evidence of the type of learning that results when we meld practice and theory.

Specifically, the voices highlighted below are those of students who benefited from having the power to breakdown the barriers between their classes and to verify theoretic results using physical measurement. These types of experiences were the inspiration behind why we wanted to create these Power Blocks in the first place.