Student Journal
As students complete their lab assignment, they can capture aspects of their lab work in the student journal for future reference or assessment.
Modern User Interface (UI/UX)
Other software continues to rely on dialog boxes, whereas Capstone has incorporated more modern UI design elements, such as in-context options and display tools. We are constantly improving our user experience to eliminate stumbling blocks and improve the quality of student learning.
Administrative Control
Features can be turned on and off to minimize distractions during instruction. Educators can choose to give students access to all tools, or just to specific tools for that lesson.
Signal Generator
Capstone's signal generator controls include settings that accommodate the demands of advanced circuits labs. Users can manipulate:
- Waveforms: DC, sine, square, triangle, positive/negative ramp, positive square, positive up/down ramp
- Sweep: single, repeat, bi-directional
- Voltage offset
- Voltage and Current and Limit
Oscilloscope
Capstone provides a display that behaves like a digital oscilloscope and includes related tools. These enhancements differ from other software that uses the same graph display for slower and faster sampling rates:
- Trigger
- Single trace collection
- Sample rate tied to time axis scale
- Set trace offset
Graph Display Unique Features
- Multiple area selection for data analysis
- Exclude data points
- Mutli-y Coordinate tool
- Axis Quick-Calcs
Importing
- External data (.csv files) can be imported into Capstone and analyzed.
- Text, images, and videos can also be easily imported into the Capstone workbook.
- Data collected using SPARKvue can be opened in Capstone for more extensive analysis.
Exporting
- Export Capstone files into other applications as .txt or .csv files.
- New export wizard in Capstone 2 lets student choose which measurements and runs, eliminating data post-processing.
- Copy graphs and other displays into word processing or presentation software.
Video Analysis
- Study motion in two dimensions.
- Simultaneously start USB webcam and data collection.
- Display velocity and acceleration vectors.
- Auto-track objects to speed up data capture.
Video Analysis Highlights
- Magnifying glass identifies the exact center of the object for precision tracking
- Calibration ruler to get accurate data
- Easy angle measurements
- Move the origin of the axes
- Create annotations to capture student thinking, or explain important moments
- Change playback rate is especially useful for high-speed capture
- Automatic or custom frame advance
- Reposition any point to correct mistakes
More Video Analysis Features
- Track more than one object
- Generate x-y data for position, velocity, and acceleration
- Measure the radius of a circle
- Make linear measurements in frames or snapshots
- Set the number of frames that are advanced
- Object vectors help students visualize the velocity and acceleration on the object
- Frame-skipping enables high-speed video analysis
