CM February 23, 1996. Vol. II, Number 19

The Beginners Digital Electronics Site
Authorized by Industry Canada through the Schoolnet Program

Call For Participation

This is a call for people around the world to contribute to the creation of a web site designed to help students learn the basics of digital electronics. It is hoped that these pages will be the work of a variety of groups and individuals from many parts of the globe. The process of developing the site is meant to promote the peaceful view that together we are stronger.

The site is to contain at least the topics listed below. Ideas concerning how to present these topics, as well as suggestions for additional topics, are invited. People are also invited to develop actual content for the site. For example, students of one school might develop a section on the binary number system, pages on the creation of a half adder, or a set of career or industry links. Each of these might be done by one school or in conjunction with other schools.

Students in a grade 10 computer science course at Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School in Gloucester, Ontario, are positioned to produce alone the contents for the digital electronics site. The project, however, has the potential to be of far greater value to themselves and others if they are primarily the coordinating body for it, so if you are in a position to participate, please consider joining in.

To avoid duplication of efforts, please contact us before investing much time and energy to insure that your ideas are not already being developed by others. Kindly put Digital Project as the subject of all communications.

Content Description:

The content is expected to include the following, but is likely to expand and undergo modifications with the suggestions and contributions of new participants in the project.


  1. Number systems: A look at the history of numbers, numbers of different bases, converting between number systems, how binary and hexidecimal number systems have been used in programming computers, and how to do operations with binary numbers.
  2. Boolean logic: The consideration of electronic gates, truth tables, Boolean expression, and Karnaugh maps.
  3. Electronic components: The presentation of the simple circuit, pictures, diagrams and explanations of resistors, diodes, capacitors, transistors, LEDs, integrated circuits, and breadboards.
  4. Circuit wiring: The development of a variety of experiments that explore the properties of resistors, diodes, 7-segment LEDs, gates, and then more advanced circuits including half and full adders, clocks, flip-flops, and binary to decimal decoders. Special projects involving practical applications might be included here.
  5. Career Links: Links to the home pages of people who have careers in digital electronics.
  6. Digital Links: Links to the sites of companies involved in digital electronics as well as to other sites where students can learn about the topic.
  7. The community of contributors: A section on the people who helped to create the site including links to their home pages, school home pages, and institution home pages.

Dates: February 5, 1996 - May 31, 1996.
Contact: Richard Fransham: richfran@icons.net

The Digital Project
Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School
2072 Jasmine Crescent
Gloucester, Ontario, K1J 8M5
Telephone: 613-741-4525 . . . . Fax: 613-741-9593

CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE | WELCOME