When I first taught computer organization to computer science majors here at East Tennessee State University, I was not sure where to begin. My training as an electrical engineer provided me with a background in DC and AC electrical theory, electronics, and circuit design. Was this where I needed to start? Do computer science majors really need to understand computers at the transistor level?

The textbook used by my predecessors assumed the reader had had some experience with electronics. The author went so far as to use screen captures from oscilloscopes and other test equipment to describe circuit properties. I soon found that this was a bad assumption to make when it came to students of computer science.

To provide a lifeline to my floundering students, I began writing supplementary notes and posting them to my course web site. Over the years, the notes matured until eventually students stopped buying the course textbook. When the on-line notes were discovered by search engines, I began receiving messages from other instructors asking if they could link to my notes. The answer was obvious: of course!

The on-line notes provided a wonderful opportunity. Instead of requiring a textbook for my course, I could ask my students to purchase hardware or software to supplement the university's laboratory equipment. This could include anything from external hard drives to circuit components. By enhancing the hands-on portion of the course, I hope that I have improved each student's chance to learn and retain the material.

NOTE: This book has been released by its autor.