TryEngineering’s 5 New E-Books Provide Onramp to Engineering

As the home for IEEE’s preuniversity resources, activities, and hands-on experiences, TryEngineering serves as a hub for educators, parents, and IEEE volunteers to teach school-age children about engineering.

With support from IEEE partners, TryEngineering has launched a series of e-books. Bolstered by input from IEEE members who are experts in their field, the e-books use open-source, free materials written to teach complex engineering topics in an age-appropriate way. Visually appealing, the books use colorful charts and graphs to grab children’s attention.

Each of the five English-language publications provides an overview of a technology or topic. The books include stories about engineers, technologists, and early pioneers.

Engineering disciplines, solutions, and ethics

Engineers Make the World a Better Place was created with funding from the IEEE New Initiatives Committee. The book introduces students to engineering disciplines and explains how engineers improve society by solving challenging problems, such as improving access for children with limited physical mobility.

With support from Onsemi’s Giving Now program, IEEE semiconductor experts wrote Microchip Adventures: A Journey Into the World of Semiconductors. It includes an introduction to the field, a list of commonly used terms, an explanation of how chips are made, and an overview of the technology’s history.

Bolstered by input from IEEE members who are experts in their field, the e-books use open-source, free materials written to teach complex engineering topics in an age-appropriate way.

Wave Wonders: A Signal Processing Journey was written with experts from the IEEE Signal Processing Society. It teaches students how to tell the difference between digital and analog signals. The e-book introduces readers to the inventor of the telegraph, Samuel Morse. Also included is the Electric Messages lesson plan, which explains how early telegraphs worked.

Ocean Engineering Heroes: Making the Oceans and the World a Better Place was created in partnership with the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society. It includes video interviews with several society leaders about oceans and ways to help keep them clean. It also discusses the impact of pollution including sound pollution from ships and other sources. Included are links to resources from other organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

AI Adventures: Exploring the World of Artificial Intelligence was written with assistance from the IEEE Computer Society. The publication describes how AI models work and explains commonly used terms including machine learning and neural networks. The book covers the importance of ethics when using AI.

Visit the TryEngineering website for the e-books and many other resources for educators, parents, and volunteers. To help expand the site’s pool of offerings, consider donating to the IEEE TryEngineering Fund.