Teaching at Cleveland State University
Winner of the 2017 CSU Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching
Teaching in Fall 2023
CIS454/554 Computer Networks (M W)
CIS694/EEC693 Android Sensor Programming (T Th)
Teaching in Summer 2023
CIS454/554 Computer Networks (M W F)
CIS554 Computer Networks (T Th)
Teaching Innovation
I have a great passion for teaching innovation. My unique approach is to incorporate cutting edge technologies in the undergraduate and graduate curricula. The benefits are manifold:
- It matches the strong student interest in learning application development skills for cutting edge computer technologies.
- It provides great opportunity for students to learn about real-world software engineering ans well as how to solve multidisciplinary problems.
- It enhances the breath and depth of the Electrical and Computer Engineering curricula.
My work on teaching innovation has been supported by the following list of Teaching Enhancement Awards from Cleveland State University:
- Interactive Algorithm Visualization for Computer Networks. As PI. $1,000. 2014-2015.
- A New Course on Kinect Application Development. As PI. $4,000. 2013-2014.
- Kinect for Education: Making the Senior Design More Relevant, More Cutting-Edge, and More Fun. As PI. $2,385. 2011.
- A New Course on iPhone/iPod Touch Application Development. As PI (with Co-PI Dr. Nigamanth Srdihar). $5,000. 2009-2010.
- Bringing the Fun and Excitement of iPod Touch into Classroom: An Engaged Learning Experience for EEC484/584 Students. As PI. $3,939. 2008-2009.
The experiences gained and lessons learned in these projects are documented in the following paper:
- Wenbing Zhao, Enriching Engineering Curricula with a Course on Cutting-Edge Computer Technologies, IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference, Princeton, NJ, March 7, 2015
Microsoft Kinect Application Development
The Kinect sensor introduced by Microsoft for its Xbox 360 game console proved to be a very interesting and powerful device far beyond its intended use. Many practical applications based on Kinect have been developed, mostly related to smart and connected healthcare. The release of the KinectSDK makes it much easier to develop interesting applications that use the Natural User Interface to interact with computers. I strongly believe that Kinect has great potential to be used as an education device in classroom instructions as well as used as a powerful tool in research, especially in physical and occupational therapy. In spring 2012, I provided a bootcamp on Kinect app development in a the senior design course (EEC490) . In spring 2013, I offered two sections of a special topic course on Kinect programming for both graduate and undergraduate students. The project was made possible by several Teaching Enhancement Award from the CSU Center for Faculty Excellence.
iOS Application Development
In spring 2009, I experimented with using iPod touch as an education device in my Computer Networks class. In June, I gave a talk on this topic to a group of science teachers (middle and high schools) from the greater Cleveland region. The power point slides for the talk can be found here. Recently, I also gave a guest lecture on iPod touch programming for ESC120. The power point slides for the talk can be found here. In fall 2010, I offered a special topic course on iOS application development for both graduate and undergraduate students. The project was made possible by several Teaching Enhancement Award from the CSU Center for Excellence.
Previously Offered Courses
EEC484/584 Computer Networks, fall 2005, fall 2006, spring 2006, fall 2007, spring 2008, fall 2008, spring 2009, fall 2009, spring 2010, fall 2010, spring 2011, fall 2011, spring 2012, fall 2012, fall 2013, fall 2014, spring 2015 (EEC484)
EEC490 Senior Design, spring 2012, 2016-2017 (two teams)
EEC681/781 Distributed Computing Systems, fall 2004, spring 2006, fall 2006, fall 2008
EEC685/785 Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Computer Systems, fall 2005
EEC688/788 Secure and Dependable Computing, spring 2006, spring 2007, spring 2008, spring 2009, fall 2013, fall 2014, fall 2015, summer 2016, fall 2016, summer 2017, fall 2017
EEC693/793 Applied Computer Vision, spring 2014, spring 2016, summer 2016, spring 2017, summer 2017, spring 2018
CIS470 Mobile App Development, spring 2018
