Digital Signal Processing Teaching: a Praat Based Approach

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is a significant and increasing subject area in many disciplines such as, Electrical/Computer Engineering (ECE), Communication Engineering, Computer Science and other Engineering/Science disciplines. With the growing of DSP job market, the DSP course has become very popular among ECE students, and it is still considered to be a difficult and complex one to study. Praat, a speech analysis software, is proposed to apply in signal processing teaching in this paper. More DSP algorithms, even real-time signal processing algorithms are simulated by Praat and its script language that the object of using the software further enlarged to the signal processing area. The authors have enhanced the learning experience for their students by using the software during the teaching, and reduced the difficulty in understanding of DSP theories and algorithms.