[Noisebridge-discuss] a little bit of info on the excel program, and an idea to move forward

[Michael Shiloh]

I, too, am on a big Arduino kick, which I think is well justified and 
not false enthusiasm. I love your plan.

I have shown Arduino to a small number of youngsters and they seem 
extremely comfortable with it, even if they have not had any programming 
experience before. I often preface it with the the common discussion of 
how instructions on a shampoo bottle resemble a program (I usually leave 
off the pitfalls of the "repeat" instruction until we get into loops), 
and they seem to like that.

One point I disagree with: I strongly feel that each student should have 
his/her own environment and Arduino. Some people feel that it is 
extremely important to learn in groups, but I disagree. I'm not sure I 
can argue this point, as it is in large part a gut feeling.

I always encourage my students to share problems and ideas, to ask each 
other questions, and to learn from each other. They can work in pairs or 
larger groups, but I still feel strongly that they each need their own 
computer and Arduino. They each need to make their own mistakes and to 
exalt in their own successes.

This is one reason I wanted to play with the RBBB. At $12 a board, it's 
possible to put one in the hands of every student.

This still leaves the matter of a computer. Right now netbooks are the 
darlings of the moment, but I think it is too early to tell whether they 
are truly appropriate platforms. What if we found inexpensive or free 
used laptops? A live Linux CD or USB thumbdrive could be used. I think 
the big question is how big a footprint is the IDE, being Java and all. 
A question: What is the minimum amount of RAM and CPU horsepower to run 
the Arduino IDE?

Perhaps we could score a nice donation of such laptops, especially if we 
find a company that is giving everyone netbooks instead!

Netbooks are also somewhat fragile, so the price would have to consider 
replacements. This would be true in any case, and for the Arduinos as 
well, for that matter.

We should also consider some sort of projector for demonstrating. This 
really is a major expense, is it not?

Michael

J.D. Zamfirescu-Pereira wrote:
> (Mitch: I'm very curious to hear about your experiences teaching 
> microcontrollers in NYC! -- out of curiosity, which school was this?)
> 
> Lee and I spoke for a while after tonight's five minutes of fame at 
> noisebridge and came up with something of a possible scheme that I'll 
> outline here. We'd like to hear your thoughts and (obviously) are open 
> to suggestions.
> 
> 
> 30,000 foot view:
> 
> Teaching kids blinkenlights with microcontrollers (arduinos?). 1 class 
> per week, 1-2 hours per class, 10 kids (high school) per class, 1-2 
> teachers per class. $3000 approximate cost for the year, with some 
> equipment amortized over several years.
> 
> 5 foot view:
> 
> Both Lee and I have been on somewhat of an Arduino kick lately, myself 
> in large part because it's easy to learn (and thus teach). We were 
> remarking on how kids seem to love blinking LEDs they can do stuff with, 
> and thought that a class based on the Arduino with some sensors, LEDs, 
> motors, etc. could potentially be a ton of fun for a high-school 
> after-school program.
> 
> This got us to thinking: would it be crazy to purchase 4 Eee PCs, 4 
> arduino boards, and assorted components and teach microcontrollers in a 
> way that's somewhat self-directed? Set kids up with sample code that 
> blinks a light using an arduino. Explain some of the basics. Get them to 
> create their own blinking patterns, based on a graph, or based on sensor 
> input, or what have you. Lee suggested maybe getting an LED to blink in 
> a heartbeat pattern. Or coordinating multiple LEDs.
> 
> As kids want to do more complex things, the teachers would explain how 
> to do those things. For this kind of interaction, we figured a high 
> teacher:student ratio would be good, so we thought 2 teachers and 10 
> students would be a good fit. (Students would pair- or 3-up on the Eee 
> PC "stations".) That way, some groups could work while others got a 
> question answered or saw a demo. For something of general interest, the 
> whole group could be involved.
> 
> Running a "session" of about 10-12 weeks, this type of setup would lend 
> itself to some continuity - kids could have projects that they work on 
> from week to week - but we could also do one-off classes. For example, 
> Mitch could do an excellent soldering lesson one week or something similar.
> 
> Some basic budgeting and we came up with a cost of about $3000/yr, from 
> the following. (Question marks near the questionable stuff.)
> 
> 4 Eee PCs: $250 x 4 = $1000
> 4 Arduinos + associated components, cables, etc: $50 x 4 = $250
> 25 (?) weeks of class per year, $100 (?) "teaching fee" per class: $2500.
> 
> Amortizing the Eee PCs and arduinos over 3 (?) years yields just under 
> $3000 per year.
> 
> Thoughts? Are we crazy? Does this sound doable (and fun, of course!) to 
> anyone else?
> 
> (Lee, chime in if I've forgotten or misrepresented anything!)
> 
> J.D.
> 
> 
> On Apr 15, 2009, at 12:23 PM, Michael Shiloh wrote:
> 
>> Aha! I have just heard back from one of my friends who does in fact 
>> use ExCEL at her school, and she is going to put me in touch with the 
>> ExCEL coordinator at her school. I will hopefully talk to her later 
>> today.
>>
>> She does say, though, "EXCL is notoriously underfunded, 
>> underorganized, etc.". But we should determine for ourselves. The 
>> proposal process should tell us a lot.
>>
>>
>>
>> Comments in line below. A big question I have to all of you:
>>
>> If this is a program that kids volunteer to be part of, I'm interested 
>> in reaching those kids who don't give it a second thought.
>>
>> How do we reach them? My fantasy: we come do a demonstration or a show 
>> or something where everyone is included. Then we ask the kids "Who is 
>> interested in learning how to do this?". Everyone who raises their 
>> hand is sent out (or perhaps sent off with our first teacher). With 
>> everyone left we have a discussion, basically trying to figure out 
>> what kind of things turn them on, what would they like to learn how to 
>> make, or build, or create, or whatever.
>>
>> Perhaps video editing? or sound or audio recording? perhaps electronic 
>> music? perhaps basic carpentry or model rockets or just smashing 
>> computer monitors?
>>
>> One of the problems is that in high school it is cool to appear bored 
>> by life and disinterested in everything. How do we get around this?
>>
>> Mitch Altman wrote:
>>>  Thanks for the first contact, Michael!
>>>  I like your general outline of 6 weeks.  10 kids per class is nice, 
>>> but maybe we'll have a better chance of acceptance if we teach more?  
>>> (That's a question.)
>>
>> Good question, and one which I asked my teacher friend just now. Will 
>> let you know.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I'd be most up for high school aged kids, myself,
>>> since we can go more into things.  And if these classes are for 
>>> people who volunteer themselves to be a part of, then I think we'll 
>>> get some really interesting kids.  If we have a 6-week curriculum 
>>> then we could do it twice per semester, if we like, plus once in the 
>>> summer.
>>
>> Yes, I like this way of thinking.
>>
>>
>>>  We could have 1 teacher per week (or a set of teachers), with that 1 
>>> teacher (or set of teachers) teaching 1 topic.  I don't think the 
>>> topics need to be closely knitted together, but just fit under a 
>>> general umbrella, such as "making cool things".  What do others 
>>> think?  We should pick the number of days/times that each teacher (or 
>>> set) will teach -- I think we need to have this consistent for all 6 
>>> weeks.
>>
>> Agree to all.
>>
>>
>>>  I'd like to teach kids how to make cool things with 
>>> microcontrollers.  I'll be doing this for a week at a high school in 
>>> NYC for learning disability kids.  The administration put out the 
>>> word to the whole school that this class was available, thinking that 
>>> 20 to 30 kids would sign up for it -- but 118 did, which is half the 
>>> school. (!)  In this case, I'm teaching 6 individual 3-hour classes, 
>>> where each kid goes to one of the 6 classes, and everyone builds one 
>>> of the 5 projects that I offered (TV-B-Gone kit, Mignonette Game kit, 
>>> Brain Machine kit, Trippy RGB Waves kit, MiniPOV3 kit).  The school 
>>> is buying all of the tools so that they will be able to teach this 
>>> class without me in the future.  I'll see how this goes at the NYC 
>>> high school.  Much of what I do there will be directly applicable for 
>>> teaching for the ExCEL program.  Any comments/thoughts?
>>
>> Excellent. Look forward to your reports.
>>
>>>  I leave for 6 weeks of travel starting tomorrow morning.  I'll be 
>>> checking my email every day, and I'll have my phone, if anyone wants 
>>> to call for any reason:
>>>     415-377-5993
>>>  Cheers,
>>> Mitch.
>>>   ------------------------
>>>  > Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:52:04 -0700
>>> > From: michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com
>>> > To: noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> > Subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] a little bit of info on the excel 
>>> program, and an idea to move forward
>>> >
>>> > Man, these guys are hard to get in touch with, in spite of the handy
>>> > contacts list on their web page.
>>> >
>>> > My (soon-to-be-ex) wife spent some time on the phone and was able 
>>> to get
>>> > through to Jason Rigg, the new manager. He does not accept direct 
>>> emails
>>> > (can we work with someone like this?) and he directed her to the two
>>> > documents we've already seen: the RFP and the spreadsheet.
>>> >
>>> > He said to think "pie in the sky" and when they review the proposals
>>> > they might want to negotiate down to something that they can fund.
>>> >
>>> > I will next follow up on the leads that Lee got from 826 Valencia:
>>> > Marisa and Dave.
>>> >
>>> > Meanwhile, I get the impression that we can propose pretty much 
>>> whatever
>>> > we would like, so in order to keep the ball rolling, and since the
>>> > deadline is the end of this month, let's start talking about this.
>>> >
>>> > So, if we could propose our ideal program, what would it look like?
>>> >
>>> > I'll toss out some of my ideas, but please let's hear yours, and don't
>>> > take mine as a firm proposal:
>>> >
>>> > Number of kids per class? I like no more than 10, although you do 
>>> get a
>>> > different dynamic with a larger group, assuming you have enough 
>>> teachers.
>>> >
>>> > Ages? I just finished teaching a bunch of 8-10 year olds. Very high
>>> > energy, very low attention span. Sweet kids, though, and good work 
>>> when
>>> > they focused, but I spent too much of my time telling them not to 
>>> bother
>>> > each other etc.
>>> >
>>> > 7th-8th grades have the hormones making them crazy. I should know, I
>>> > have a 14 year old daughter. Keep away.
>>> >
>>> > High school can be the most rewarding, but is challenging. OTOH, 
>>> this is
>>> > probably the group that can most benefit from learning a creative 
>>> skill
>>> > in an after-school setting, and might especially enjoy the cool 
>>> stuff we
>>> > can teach. And, at their age especially, this could have a real impact
>>> > on their future.
>>> >
>>> > My preference? 10-12 or high school.
>>> >
>>> > Subjects?
>>> > Let's keep this very broad.
>>> >
>>> > Duration?
>>> > I think for the first time we do this, I suggest we do something 
>>> like a
>>> > 6 week program, perhaps 2-3 times a week, and then expand as our
>>> > confidence and experience dictates.
>>> >
>>> > Let's also discuss philosophy. I really am not interested in working
>>> > with "gifted" or even those already interested in science. The ones I
>>> > prefer are those who think they can not understand this, or can not
>>> > learn how to do this. And I like to draw out the kids who are quiet 
>>> and
>>> > don't jump up and raise their hands the first time. And I want to use
>>> > materials and supplies that are cheap and readily available, so that
>>> > after class they can continue or duplicate without having to spend 
>>> lots
>>> > of money. I want to keep this accessible to all, and especially the
>>> > underserved.
>>> >
>>> > I'm also particularly interested in getting more girls involved in 
>>> what
>>> > we do. We might consider having one group be a girls-only group, so 
>>> they
>>> > can develop their skills without having to compete with the guys. 
>>> There
>>> > are arguments on both sides of this issue, and I lean towards having a
>>> > girls-only session.
>>> >
>>> > Have at it!
>>> >
>>> > M
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>>> > Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
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