<description>&lt;p&gt;The most challenging task of trying to teach code in a way that is authentic to students' interests and lives is being able to show code coding is authentic to my own interests.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I don’t come to code through a love of tech. I have a poetry degree and never caught the robot bug in my youth.&amp;nbsp;I built model planes and used hot pins to simulate battle damage. My electronics kits are still in mint condition.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode of &lt;a href="https://www.teachercast.net/episodes/beyond-the-hour-of-code/" target="_blank"&gt;Beyond the Hour of Code&lt;/a&gt; I share some of the projects I am currently working on to develop my own skills and confidence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h1&gt;The Projects:&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.teachercast.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-12.02.28-PM.jpg" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Lilypad Arduino&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Notorious LED upgrade:&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;This project has been 2 years in the making and right now I am trying to integrate a sound detector to make the Neopixel ring interactive. Recently I did update the code to make the LEDs less bright. It is a challenge filming the puppet with the light in his chest, the light spoils the white balance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Galaxy Backpack:&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a new build, I want to have it for bike safety as well as a demonstration piece for coding and wearables. I have been chasing down some odd troubleshooting issues and it looks like I might need to replace the Lilypad board I am using.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.teachercast.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-11.58.40-AM.jpg" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="https://www.teachercast.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screen-Shot-2018-04-07-at-11.58.40-AM-300x161.jpg" height="196" width="365"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Testing LEDs on Galaxy Backpack&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;LED House Project:&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a multigrade project that began with the question “Why aren’t I using a train board to teach electricity and circuits?” In this project, the kids create cardboard houses and we wire them together in larger and larger batches. I am hoping we will have to construct several different power grids along the way. I have posted some of the projects on my &lt;a href="https://sites.google.com/echohorizon.org/maker/circuits" target="_blank"&gt;Inquiry and Innovation circuits page&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This project will be controlled with BBCMicrobit boards and be programmed with Microsoft’s &lt;a href="http://MakeCode.com" target="_blank"&gt;MakeCode.com&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;website. The block-based code and the provided wiring diagrams make it easy for kids to read the screen and find the information they need to become successful.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;HACK MY CAR! :&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is an idea I have been thinking about for a while. My car is really basic, almost no gauges. I know my car has data I can’t see. My plan is to construct and On-Board&lt;a href="https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/getting-started-with-obd-ii" target="_blank"&gt; Diagnostic&lt;/a&gt; device so I can access the data my car is creating.&amp;nbsp;I have the first parts in the mail to me now and I will update you as I figure this out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What are you up to? What do you dream of or wonder about? Let's wonder together and figure stuff out. Drop me a note in the comments.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Beyond the Hour of Code

Dr. Sam Patterson

Creating Authentic Learning Experiences through #Programming and @Arduino

APR 7, 20189 MIN
Beyond the Hour of Code

Creating Authentic Learning Experiences through #Programming and @Arduino

APR 7, 20189 MIN

Description

The most challenging task of trying to teach code in a way that is authentic to students' interests and lives is being able to show code coding is authentic to my own interests.I don’t come to code through a love of tech. I have a poetry degree and never caught the robot bug in my youth. I built model planes and used hot pins to simulate battle damage. My electronics kits are still in mint condition.In this episode of Beyond the Hour of Code I share some of the projects I am currently working on to develop my own skills and confidence.The Projects:Lilypad ArduinoNotorious LED upgrade:This project has been 2 years in the making and right now I am trying to integrate a sound detector to make the Neopixel ring interactive. Recently I did update the code to make the LEDs less bright. It is a challenge filming the puppet with the light in his chest, the light spoils the white balance.Galaxy Backpack:This is a new build, I want to have it for bike safety as well as a demonstration piece for coding and wearables. I have been chasing down some odd troubleshooting issues and it looks like I might need to replace the Lilypad board I am using.Testing LEDs on Galaxy BackpackLED House Project:This is a multigrade project that began with the question “Why aren’t I using a train board to teach electricity and circuits?” In this project, the kids create cardboard houses and we wire them together in larger and larger batches. I am hoping we will have to construct several different power grids along the way. I have posted some of the projects on my Inquiry and Innovation circuits page.This project will be controlled with BBCMicrobit boards and be programmed with Microsoft’s MakeCode.com website. The block-based code and the provided wiring diagrams make it easy for kids to read the screen and find the information they need to become successful.HACK MY CAR! :This is an idea I have been thinking about for a while. My car is really basic, almost no gauges. I know my car has data I can’t see. My plan is to construct and On-Board Diagnostic device so I can access the data my car is creating. I have the first parts in the mail to me now and I will update you as I figure this out.What are you up to? What do you dream of or wonder about? Let's wonder together and figure stuff out. Drop me a note in the comments.