Computer Science courses often resort to the use of simulators and virtual computing when dealing with hardware. Courses in Computer Architecture, Operating Systems, and Compilers, for example, generally interface with hardware to some degree or another. However, most Computer Science courses in these subjects do not actually provide students with hands-on experience with actual hardware.

This project seeks to identify a simple single-board computer system that can be used for Computer Science course projects. The hardware system will provide a common platform for studying computer architecture, writing assembly-language programs (either manually or via a student-developed compiler), and exploring operating system concepts using a simple, extensible operating system running on actual hardware.

Once a suitable hardware platform has been identified, we will develop curricular materials describing how to integrate this platform into Computer Science courses. Additional software will be developed as necessary to support course projects.

Furthermore, the resulting hardware platform and accompanying materials will provide a package that can be shared between courses in Computer Science and Computer Engineering to help bridge the gap between these two increasingly overlapping disciplines.

George Fox University Richter Scholars Program