  A do-it-yourself (DIY) light-wave sensing (LWS) and communication project was
developed to generate interest and clarify basic electromagnetic (EM) and
wireless communication concepts among students at different education levels
from middle school to undergraduate. This paper demonstrates the nature of the
project and its preliminary effectiveness. Wireless sensing/communication
concepts are generally considered hard to comprehend being underpinned only by
theoretical coursework and occasional simulations. Further, K-12 schools and
small academic institutions may not have the resources necessary to produce
tangible demonstrations for clarification. The consequent lack of affordable
hands-on experiences fails to motivate and engage students. The DIY-LWS is
intended to make wireless concepts more understandable and less esoteric by
linking fundamental concepts with familiar technologies such as solar cells,
visible lights, and smartphones. It is also intended to pique student interest
by allowing them to personally assemble, operate, and explore a light-based
wireless communication system. A preliminary assessment is used to determine
the student base knowledge level and enthusiasm for wireless and related core
topics. Students are instructed to assemble and test their own DIY-LWS hardware
to provide a hands-on experience and stimulate further exploration. Short
lectures are given to link conceptual ideas to the real-world phenomena.
Finally, students are re-assessed to quantify any change in conceptual
understanding. The DIY-LWS kits have been used in multiple events with students
at different levels from secondary to high schools to college. Pre- and
post-assessments revealed pronounced improvements (the number of correct
answers doubled) in student understanding of EM concepts. Instructors observed
tremendous interest and excitement among the students during and after the
experiments.
