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Cecelia Hillway, Maker, Artist
@ceciliahillway
Dave English, Maker, Puppeteer
Finding STEM through ART

https://www.cohillway.com/

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Sarah FitzHenry, Learning and Community Manager
@birdbraintech
Topic: What’s Next for Birdbrain?

Birdbrain Website

Flocking Amazing Podcast

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Karrie Huttner, Educational Technology Coach, micro:bit Champion  @huttnerk

Anne Mayoral, Program Director, Girls in Engineering Program  @annemayoral

Amanda Jeane Strode, Elem & Stem Educator, micro:bit Champion  @AmandaJeane2

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https://twitter.com/lectrifyit
https://www.instagram.com/lectrifyit/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/diegofonstad/

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Twitter: @RudyChem

Instagram: @rudstemcs

micro:bit Resources Wakelet

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Manufactured in San Francisco by Lectrify!

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The bit:explorer has a fun, compact form factor compatible with LEGO and most building materials

The bit:explorer has a secure, built-in battery pack to power the micro:bit and motors. It is ready for the projects out of the box. There is no need to purchase additional cables, batteries, electronics, etc. for students to jump into exciting coding projects in physical computing: robotics, games, science with sensors, IOT etc.

The edge connector and rear jumper pins allow for easy access to every pin on the micro:bit that doesn't also communicate with the LED matrix.

The bit:explorer is designed for makers with a compact form factor designed for rapid prototyping with any of your favorite building materials:

Looking to explore Robotics? - You can control servo motors with ease.

Bring LEGO to life - The board is spaced for LEGO and can be easily incorporated into your LEGO creations.

Connections made easy - Connect to the bit:booster using standard connectors such Dupont Jumpers, alligator clips, wires and probes, or get creative and use copper tape with LEGO, pipe cleaners or any conductive material you find lying around.

Simple Power - Don't worry about power since the bit:booster provides separate power for both the micro:bit and your connections: all without dangling battery packs.

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Bit:explorer board for micro:bit - Lectrify

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PRE-ORDER SALE! Order now and save 25%. Shipping expected June 15 Coding is a journey and exploring should be fun: the bit:explorer is your ultimate companion. Order with or without a micro:bit. Comes with 4 How To cards to start exploring physical computing out of the box.

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Megan Heineman, Digital Learning Coach
@mheinema1 @mmheineman21
Melissa Cook, Digital Learning Coach
@cookbeecrafty

https://wakelet.com/wake/yORCAMNnwwIhgi3EV8irf

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@HollyPi18008894

@FurryFriendsDC

DonorsChoose Referral

Facebook Giving Page

Slides

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Lorna Gibson, Educator Professional Development
@codinglorna @microbit_edu
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation

micro:bit Teach page

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer…

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All of the schedules and resources included!

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Did you miss something? All of the recordings for the Make-A-Thon will be on our Youtube playlist alongside a bunch of our favorite edtech and maker content.

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As you enjoy the Make-A-Thon, especially in breakout rooms, use this as a place to share ideas, resources, reflections and so on.

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@abc_create

@cms64Colleen

https://www.facebook.com/ariniu28/

https://twitter.com/ariniu28

https://www.instagram.com/ariniu28/

http://www.abccreate.org/

https://www.iu28.org/

Slideshow from Presentation

ABC CREATE Resource Round Up Reflection Sheet

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As you enjoy the Make-A-Thon, especially in breakout rooms, use this as a place to share ideas, resources, reflections and so on.

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As you enjoy the Make-A-Thon, especially in breakout rooms, use this as a place to share ideas, resources, reflections and so on.

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What Are Habits of Mind? - The Institute for Habits of Mind

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For Teachers Ever find yourself doubting whether you are creative? Many people assume that creativity is a rare commodity that someone is either born with or not and that it is reserved for the elite among us: artists, writers, and composers, or the likes of Miles Davis, Steve Jobs, or Frida Kahlo.

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Add narrative videos and other digital media to any student-made posterboard, diorama or model project

Springboard from there to explorations in tinkering,

inventing, coding and robotics!

- Roger Wagner, designer of the MakerBit

and creator of HyperStudio

"The MakerBit does for school projects what HyperStudio did for hypermedia: it makes it possible for everyone, regardless of age and experience, to use digital media in the most creative and innovative ways to enhance learning and enjoyment of the process"

Welcome!

With the MakerBit any school project diorama, model or posterboard can be made interactive by linking to videos and other digital media, including student-created videos and other content.

Teachers and students will be delighted by just how easy the MakerBit makes it to be successful in creating fun projects that are gratifying and motivating for further explorations and learning.

Above all, it's not actually about the MakerBit, but rather what it makes possible: the interconnection of student-created media content with student-made physical models.

The MakerBit Media Linker

T he for the Chrome browser lets students connect videos and other media on their Chromebooks (as well as Mac and Windows devices) to physical projects that they've made as part of their regular curriculum. The MakerBit hardware bridge makes it easy to connect LEDs and touch sensors, and also provides a springboard for MakerBit Media Linker app . further STEM activities

The MakerBit Media Linker eliminates the requirement to learn coding before you can even turn on a single LED. Now, using the Chrome browser and the MakerBit Media Linker, touching a sensor on your model can play a video that explains the parts of the model. You can also link any time frame within a YouTube video with lights (LEDs) on your model.

Compared to just passive models of the past

So they can interact and learn with this

With their experience with the logic of programming, students can then go further with coding, using 3rd party tools like Microsoft's MakeCode and , learning more about electronics and robotics, all in a STEM/STEAM context! Google's Workbench

The MakerBit and the Logic of Programming

The MakerBit Media Linker eliminates the need for coded scripting to make something happen in the model, or to react to touch sensors. However, students still learn the logic of programming by setting up the conditional actions of touch response, video playback, and even lights that turn on during specified parts of a video or other digital media displayed in the browser.

Using the MakerBit Media Linker, students create a "media list" that links Internet-based media such as videos and student-created content, to their project.

You can follow how other other educators and students are using the MakerBit by following @TheMakerBit on Twitter.

Interactive School Projects

M any student projects in elementary, junior high and high school grades can be greatly enhanced by adding narrative videos and other web-based media. The student can explain their project, and even activate LED lights when the student is talking about each part of the project in a video.

Interactive school projects bring physical projects that are unchanged from they way that they were done in the 1950s into today's world of digital interactivity. This approach can enhance learning while providing a great introduction to physical computing and can also be a great springboad to coding.

Interactive school projects support STEM and STEAM, and can be correlated with Common Core Standards, ISTE NETS, NGSS and many other curriculum standards .

Touching a point on the model lights up a corresponding part of the model and plays a video or other digital media.

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Add narrative videos and other digital media to any student-made posterboard, diorama or model project Springboard from there to explorations in tinkering, inventing, coding and robotics!

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When you connect to the micro:Bit, the initials will stop flashing. On the tablet screen, the dot on the Hummingbird Connect button will turn green, and the blocks for the micro:bit will turn teal.

Note: If you lose the connection to the micro:bit, the initials will start to flash, the dot on the Hummingbird Connect button will turn red, and the blocks for the micro:bit will turn gray. If this happens, tap the Hummingbird Connect button, select Disconnect Device, and then reconnect.

If you are not connected to the micro:bit but the initials are not flashing, try changing your batteries!

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micro:bit BirdBlox Lessons - BirdBrain Technologies

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When you connect to the micro:Bit, the initials will stop flashing. On the tablet screen, the dot on the Hummingbird Connect button will turn green, and the blocks for the micro:bit will turn teal.

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We recommend that you build Elby with 2 3x3x3 boxes and the full-sized position servos, but this robot can also be made using any small box that you have available. It can also be made using the Micro Servos that come with the Hummingbird Base Kit.

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We noticed that our bulk package of Micro:bits meant that students won't have their own individual box for their set., so I designed a 3D printed box with lid that will hold your board, USB and battery pack. Enjoy!

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Class sets of the Micro:bit version 2 are great, but they don't come with their own individual boxes. This is fitted top and bottom box with Micro:bit graphics on the lid and base.

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Favorite 1st Project with m:b ROCK PAPER SCISSOR

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Favorite 1st Project with m:b ROCK PAPER SCISSOR

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Learn about how computers use random numbers, variables and selection to recreate a classic two-player game of chance.

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The loan program is designed to expand the reach of our robots to populations who may have limited access to computer science. Thus, we will give precedence to organizations that

Serve populations traditionally under-represented in computer science (e.g. girls, minorities, rural areas).

Have a large number of students in free/reduced lunch programs.

Reach a large number of students.

We also believe programming is a fundamental and basic skill, not an advanced topic. We understand that many districts set up specific "gifted and talented" programs. We will consider applications from GATE teachers, but we prefer to see applications that will democratically use the robots across student populations. If you are a GATE teacher, please include ways for your students to share the robots with their peers, community members, or younger students.

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Hummingbird Projects - BirdBrain Technologies

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Finch and Hummingbird are sold by BirdBrain Technologies under license from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U

2012 ‧ Short/Documentary ‧ 11 mins

Caine's Arcade is an 11-minute short documentary film by Nirvan Mullick released on April 9, 2012. The film features a cardboard arcade created by Caine Monroy who was 9-years-old at that moment. Caine Monroy ran his arcade from his father's auto... Wikipedia

Initial release : April 9, 2012

Sep 13, 2012 · After "Caine's Arcade" went viral, we started Imagination.org & launched a Global ...
Duration: 8:21
Posted: Sep 13, 2012

Apr 9, 2012 · I went to buy a door handle for my car, and met this 9 year old boy, who had spent his summer ...
Duration: 10:58
Posted: Apr 9, 2012

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U 2012 ‧ Short/Documentary ‧ 11 mins Caine's Arcade is an 11-minute short documentary film by Nirvan Mullick released on April 9, 2012. The film features a cardboard arcade created by Caine Monroy who was 9-years-old at that moment.

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ELECFREAKS Retro Coding Arcade for Microsoft Makecode

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ELECFREAKS Retro Coding Arcade for Microsoft Makecode

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Develop your programming skills by quickly creating and modding retro arcade games with Blocks and JavaScript in the MakeCode editor

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Professional Development courses

Through short and friendly videos, you will learn the principles of computer science, pick-up practical tips for teaching computational thinking and programming concepts with the BBC micro:bit.

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Professional Development courses Through short and friendly videos, you will learn the principles of computer science, pick-up practical tips for teaching computational thinking and programming concepts with the BBC micro:bit.

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Finch and Hummingbird are sold by BirdBrain Technologies under license from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Use this guide to introduce the Global Goals to your students.

What are the Global Goals?

The Global Goals are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity for everyone while protecting the planet.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked goals with actions agreed by all 193 member countries of the United Nations in 2015.

It is the most ambitious international agreement ever made, to eradicate poverty and inequality, protect health and prevent climate change.

Introductory video

This short film addresses why we need the Global Goals and what they are. Show your students this video, then try one of the activities below.

The animation, introduced by Malala Yousafzai and written by Sir Ken Robinson, is a great way to introduce the Global Goals.

Activity 1: Global Goals superpower!

In this activity students will explore how they could achieve the Goals if they could do anything.
Age 8-11, length - 30 mins
Use whole group discussion and small group work to explore the Goals, understand why they exist, learn about some of the impacts and challenges and use the concept of super powers to explore how ideas for solutions can contribute to positive change.

Activity 2: Think like you are the President!

In this activity students will discuss why we need the Global Goals.
Age 11-13, length - 15 mins
Display the question: 'What are the biggest problems faced by people in our community/country/worldwide?' (Adapt as appropriate).

Ask the children what they think about this question. Encourage them to think from the perspectives of others - "Think like you are the president of the country!". Give students some time to discuss in pairs, then take some suggestions from the group. These could be written onto a board at the front.

Show students the Global Goals grid (available to download at the bottom of this guide). Compare their lists of problems with The Global Goals. Which Goal(s) do each of their problems relate to?

In a larger group you could have 17 students stand at the front with their backs to the room. Each student holds a sheet of paper with one of The Global Goals written on it. When someone suggests the problem tackled by their Goal they turn around.

Activity 3: Connecting the Global Goals to Real-Life

In this activity students will explore how they could help achieve the Goals and what that future would look like.
Age 8-13, length - 30 mins
Download the Global Goals grid here ​

​

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Sandra Hartman, Computer Technology and Media Design educator, @shrtsandytech

Leontae Gray Ward, Founder and Director of S.T.E.A.M City Tek Exec , LLC, @MrsGrayWard

Krystal Chatman, Instructional Technology Facilitator, @iamkchat

Kelly McFall, Math & CS Educator, @csta_silver

An Introduction to CSTA & the CSTA Equity Fellowship

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Leontae Gray: "At first, I didn't feel like I belonged in CS... But seeing that there was a NEED where I was, I started advocating for computer science. And now I have people like Sandy and Krystal I can call on!"

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Advice from Krystal Chatman, regarding the CSTA Equity Fellowship: "If you want to apply to the fellowship, make sure you share EVERYTHING that you do! It's very competitive, so share everything you do and believe!"

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Dr. Gholdy Muhammad - author on culturally responsive teaching practices

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Dr. Gholdy Muhammad - author on culturally responsive teaching practices

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Gholdy Muhammad agreed to answer a few questions about her new book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy.

By the way, this is the 100th book-related column published in this blog, including 96 interviews with authors and a handful of book reviews and lists of book recommendations by teachers. You can see them all here.
Dr. Gholdy Muhammad is an associate professor of language and literacy at Georgia State University. LF: You propose a four-part "equity framework" for literacy instruction including: "1) identity development; 2) skill development; 3) intellectual development; and 4) criticality." Could you describe these elements, particularly "identity development" and "criticality" since it seems that teachers might be more familiar with the middle two? Dr. Gholdy Muhammad:
The historically responsive equity framework is not just for literacy instruction or literacy educators per se but for all teachers across the disciplines. The framework does bring diverse texts and literacies into all content areas in K-12 classrooms. In my research, I take up the ways in which literacy was defined historically within black communities, particularly in black literary societies. And I found that literacy was synonymous with education. Literacy was also defined within the four frames of identity, skills, intellectualism, and criticality, the four-part equity model. In other words, as black people were learning, they were cultivating each of those four areas of their lives. If we compare these four areas to schools today, I find that most educators are teaching skills only, or their state learning standards. Yet, our students need more.

The four-part equity model was derived from examining archives and historical artifacts during the 19th century. I studied black literary societies to understand their literacy practices and learning. I asked questions such as, What types of texts did they read? What were some of their goals for learning? What factors contributed to their personal and academic success? I found that members of literary societies read diverse texts written by diverse authors. They were highly collaborative and believed in the collective responsibility for one another's learning. But importantly, they did not seek to just advance their skills in language, history, math, or science. Instead, they had wider goals for learning, which resulted in the Historically Responsive Model for teaching and learning. Collectively teaching these four goals or standards helps to cultivate students who are socio-conscious beings, who deeply have a strong sense of self and others, and who are academically successful.

Identity is made up of who we say we are, who others say we are, and the people we desire to be. Students are constantly making sense of who they are, and, I argue, classroom instruction needs to be responsive to their identities. Because we are complex beings, we have racial, cultural, gender, environmental, and community identities, to name a few. Not only is it important to teach youths who they are, but educators should also teach students about the identities and cultures of others different from them. When we have true, clear, and complete understandings about people different from us, we are less inclined to hate, show bias, or hold false views of others. When youths have a strong sense of their own histories and identities, it becomes a refuge or a protection. When they don't know themselves, others may tell them, and sometimes that may not be positive. With each lesson or unit plan, teachers should ask, How does our curriculum and instruction help students to learn about themselves or others?

Criticality is the capacity and ability to read, write, think, and speak in ways to understand power and equity in order to understand and promote anti-oppression. I define oppression simply as any wrongdoing, hurt, or harm. This can be racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, or any other oppression. In my work, I discuss the difference between lower case "c" critical, which is just deep and analytical thinking. But Critical with a capital "c" is related to power, equity, and anti-oppression. It is helping youths to be "woke" socio-politically. Criticality calls for teachers to connect their teaching to the human condition and to frame their teaching practices in response to the social and uneven times in which we live. This means helping students understand content from marginalized perspectives. As long as oppression is present, students need spaces to name, interrogate, resist, agitate, and work toward social change. This will support students toward being critical consumers and producers of information. It will also help to build a better humanity for all. With each lesson or unit plan, teachers should ask, How does our curriculum and instruction help us understand power, equity, and anti-oppression?

These four learning standards connect with Gloria Ladson Billings' definition of culturally relevant education as she pushed for academic success (skills and intellect), cultural competence (identity), and socio-political consciousness (criticality) in classrooms. The Historically Responsive Model or the four learning standards I discuss returns the excellence of black educative spaces and uses this history as a blueprint to improve classrooms today. There is not one child who does not need to advance identity development, skill development, intellectualism, or criticality. Collectively teaching and learning toward these four pursuits helps to teach the whole child to be successful for a full and quality life.
LF: You give this four-part framework the name of "Historically Responsive Literacy," connecting it back to 19th century black literacy societies which, I, embarrassingly, had never heard of prior to reading your book. Could you talk about that historical connection? Dr. Gholdy Muhammad:
Actually, many people have not heard of this American history. The author of the prominent book that fully captures the history, Elizabeth McHenry, entitled her book, Forgotten Readers, because our ancestors' stories and histories have been forgotten and left out. I would also add that these histories are not taught in K-12 schools. When I engaged in historical research to better understand these learning spaces, I wanted to know: How can we take the teachings from black historical excellence to advance educational achievement for all youths today? When I study state standards, curriculum programs, state assessments, and teacher evaluations, I don't find that they largely focus on identity and criticality, which is why we don't see this type of teaching in all classrooms. These four critical parts of the system lack culturally responsiveness. Across the nation, we have frameworks, textbooks, and literature that are oftentimes not written by people of color. Nor do these largely represent the fullness of people of color.

I learned that black literary societies were developed by black males in 1828 in the urban Northern cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. Membership was from 10-100 people. They were also called reading rooms, lyceums, literary institutions, and writing clubs. They met regularly in basements of churches, classrooms, homes, or anywhere where they could be in community with one another. They paid membership fees, and many of their funds went to texts and cultivating their libraries. Often, they would check out a book, read it, and present a short lecture on the content of the book upon returning it. They read across topics of mathematics, science, history, and English. But literacy was central to all their content learning. They did not just come together to read and enjoy literature (like many book clubs today), but they also had goals of using knowledge to benefit other black people and the conditions of society at large.

Black literary societies' members left meticulous records for our learning today. They recorded and published their activities and other writings in newspapers, books, and pamphlets. I use their practices as a roadmap and plan for reimagining and redesigning curriculum and instruction for students. In Cultivating Genius, I give a fuller list of examples showing how I took teachings from history and applied them to today's classrooms, but a few ideas include how:

Libraries were essential to all achievement, so teachers today can cultivate their classroom libraries to include diverse authorship and international texts.

Literacy was the foundation to all disciplinary learning, so teachers today can bring in opportunities for youths to read and study from multimodal texts in different genres.

Learning was highly collaborative, so teachers today can create opportunities where individualism and competition aren't privileged over collectivism.

When we use the theories and teachings of black historic thinkers, we will have different and more advanced schools and classrooms. We have so long prescribed what youths need, all along leaving black history, black excellence, and black frameworks out of the picture. But when we "return" to and look back on history, we can advance in unique and exciting ways. Black Literary Societies are the blueprint.
LF: "Deficit" thinking and perspectives come up several times in your book. Can you talk about what you mean, how they can impact students, and what teachers can do to change those mindsets? Dr. Gholdy Muhammad:
Yes, "deficit thinking" comes up quite often in the book because deficit perspectives and thinking lead to poor and basic instructional practices. Deficit thinking can be viewed in different ways. First, it is any thinking, perspectives, or ideologies that are negative, false, incomplete, or destructive. It can also be defined as capturing someone's story as a single narrative or starting one's story in false, damaging, or incomplete ways. Deficit thinking is a type of oppression and leads to racism or other forms of harm. Sadly, we have a history of misrepresentation of certain groups using ads, literature, and other media. This type of propagation has conditioned the minds and hearts of people to have deficit views. The conditioning is then perpetuated in homes, communities, and schools.

The consequence of deficit thinking creates trauma and harms our young people. We talk a lot about emotional trauma or trauma from childhood but we talk less about the effects of racial trauma in schools for our students. What happens when teachers think less about other people who share the same race or identity of their students? Do teachers think this type of thinking never manifests or makes its way into classrooms? We don't leave our racism, biases, political agendas, or ideologies at home when we enter classroom spaces. When deficit thinking leads to trauma, our students may be affected for the rest of their lives. Our young people may feel like they don't belong; they may feel worthless or that they are not good enough. Their academics and engagement are negatively affected as a result. This can follow them throughout their lives and disrupt their joy.

When I ask teachers to tell me about their black and brown students, sometimes I hear comments such as, they are unmotivated, they can't read, or they have discipline problems. I follow this question by asking if they would introduce their own children in the same way. Oftentimes, parents would not. They would find something positive to say about their own child. This is why I returned to black historical excellence and named the book Cultivating Genius. I am proclaiming that we start our children's stories with genius, especially black children's, because the nation has struggled to get it right with us the most. We must disrupt deficit ways of thinking and being. Our youths are genius. They are not all those things that systemic oppression has created. And young people deserve to be taught by geniuses, those who seek knowledge and deeply love the students in their classes.

To change the mindset, teachers must do their self-work or find another profession. Just as a person has to heal from abuse in order to be whole, happy, and productive, if teachers have deficit perspectives, they must recognize them, name them, and work toward disrupting and dissolving this type of thinking. That may come from proper education, therapy, or exercises that lead toward anti-racism, anti-bias, and anti-oppression.
LF: Can you share summaries of specific lessons that you think might reflect your recommendations for what literacy instruction could look like? Dr. Gholdy Muhammad:
Usually, when I develop lesson or unit plans, I try to connect the learning around the human condition or a social issue. For example, Flint, Mich., has a water crisis with a lack of clean water. This issue became the impetus for a science and math lesson I was working on for students in Atlanta and New York, but it is an issue that can be explored across different content areas. In this math example, the students learned about the percentages of lead content found in water and graphed equations. In the science class, they defined environmental justice and water quality, which was connected to Next Generation Science Standards. I started this lesson by showing a photo essay by real residents of Flint with captions depicting experiences. This led to the discussion of water and our personal use and dependency. We read political cartoons, youth-spoken word poetry, a timeline, a short news article, photographs, and statistical data of lead content. I layered these short, powerful, and engaging texts as a way for my students to access and engage in learning. We read and discussed the texts together, and the students worked collaboratively in groups. We also had textbooks available to support learning. The lesson plan went across multiple days. What I learned is that identity and criticality became great points of entry for students who struggled with math and science skills. They connected the water crisis in Flint to their local communities. One science teacher in New York followed up by testing the lead content in water near their school. Students also learned vocabulary such as Legionnaires' disease, marginalization, and water crisis.

The students benefited from the unit plan and found the lessons engaging. Units like this prepare students for life and teach them not to be passive consumers of information and news. Instead, lessons like this one teach them to interrogate, critique, and agitate toward social change, especially in their own communities.

This historically responsive unit shifted traditional ways of teaching science and math. First, it brought more literacies and texts into these content areas. Students were taught to read the word and the world. Students read from diverse texts and even read poetry in their STEM classroom. The model also restored intellectualism into the learning, and students learned new knowledge in addition to skills. I assessed each learning standard using discussion, collaborative group worksheets, exit slips, and a summative assessment. This lesson plan can even be extended by setting learning goals in English/language arts or social studies classrooms, too. Here is a breakdown of how the lesson fits into the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework outlined in Cultivating Genius:

1.Identity: Students will understand their personal dependency on water.

2. Skill: (Math) Students will learn to examine percentages of lead content found in water. They will also learn how to create equations with two or more variables to represent relations between quantities as well as graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.

Skill: (Science) Students will define environmental justice and name the importance of water quality for humans.

3. Intellect: Students will learn about the water crisis in Flint, Mich.

4. Criticality: Students will learn to consider how the government prioritizes community needs based on socioeconomic status and/or race and understand the media's role in the government's response to a crisis.

More units like this are offered in the book. This is one example, but I have observed the pure genius of teachers designing learning around the model. In doing so, they keep a few questions in mind as they plan:

What issue is most urgent for students' learning? How does this issue connect to the world? How can I connect content-learning skills to this issue?

What multimodal text can layer in my lesson or unit plan to teach this topic/issue? Teachers think about print and nonprint texts.

What creative and engaging exercises will I engage students in to teach this topic/issue?

How can I assess each of the four learning standards?

LF: Is there anything I haven't asked you about that you'd like to share?
Dr. Gholdy Muhammad:

Cultivating Genius and the historically responsive model offered in the book is for all teachers K-12 across all discipline areas, even physical and health education. I also use the model to frame my college courses and syllabi at Georgia State University. The four learning standards of identity, skills, intellect, and criticality are areas of growth that EVERY child needs in every class.

I am reminded by many wonderful teachers with whom I work that some of the greatest anti-oppressive leaders and change agents in the world have held a strong sense of self and knowledge of other people (identity), skills, intellect, and criticality. We want to help cultivate students who will not be neutral on oppression or students who would contribute to more oppression in the world. Instead, we want to cultivate young people who, across the course of their lifetimes, will disrupt, disquiet, or unhinge oppression.

This means we must teach beyond sanctioned curriculum and standards such as the Common Core. We must evaluate and interrogate the curriculum we are given to teach. We must hold publishers accountable for the lack of diverse and critical content they produce. We must stop trying to make something culturally responsive when it wasn't designed that way in the first place. We have to stop putting fresh coats of paint on the same debilitating structures of education. We must start fresh with a curriculum that was designed with black and brown youths in mind and written by black and brown people, too. We have a growing population of culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse youths and families. It's time for the course of education to change. Indeed, the genius for this transformation is at hand. We need only to properly respond.
LF: Thank you, Dr. Muhammad!

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Author Interview With Dr. Gholdy Muhammad: 'Cultivating Genius' (Opinion)

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For the 100th book-related post in this blog, Gholdy Muhammad agreed to answer a few questions about her new book, "Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy."

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Sandra Hartman: "When we think about diverse learners, we immediately think about racial diversity - but there's so much more to it! There's gender diversity, visual impairments, students with disabilities, and more. That is a big part of what we focus on in our equity fellowship."

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CSTA Affinity Groups provide a space for CSTA members to connect with other members who share a common identity or interest.

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CSTA Affinity Groups - Computer Science Teachers Association

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CSTA Affinity Groups provide a space for CSTA members to connect with other members who share a common identity or...

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Krystal Chatman: "Intersectionality exists! So let's make sure people feel supported in their identities."

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Educators who are new to coding can integrate these tools into subjects from ELA to ecology, math to music, and beyond with FREE learning materials!

Tutorials

Printables

Teacher-only Sample Code

Self-paced Teacher Intro Courses

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BirdBrain Technologies - Deep and Joyful Learning

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Educators who are new to coding can integrate these tools into subjects from ELA to ecology, math to music, and beyond with FREE learning materials! Tutorials Printables Teacher-only Sample Code Self-paced Teacher Intro Courses

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If you are part of the Amazon Future Engineers program (which is free curriculum so you should), it includes an upgrade to CSTA +

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Amazon Future Engineer is a comprehensive childhood-to-career program aimed at increasing access to computer science education for students from underserved and underrepresented communities.

Thank you for your submission!

We use cookies to enhance your visit to our site.

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Learn about our computer science opportunities, from childhood to career.

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Infosys Foundation USA - Pathfinders Institute

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Infosys Foundation USA - Pathfinders Institute

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The Pathfinders Institute is a signature professional development program for K-12 public school teachers in computer science and maker education that is hosted by the Foundation in collaboration with leading curriculum providers. It has been convened in-person, virtually during the pandemic and now offered year-round in a digital learning platform format. Come be a part of our growing community and experience the magic of Pathfinders here.

Past Pathfinders Institutes

Virtual Pathfinders Summer Institute 2023

The Foundation had a historic summer in 2023, welcoming the largest number of educators since program inception in 2018. We virtually welcomed 1,017 K-12 public school educators to 20 different PDs offered by 17 leading PD partners. Each educator participated in 40 hours of free, virtual, synchronous and asynchronous training, learning new knowledge to enhance their CS teaching in their classrooms. Educators were further supported with classroom supplies through a 2x match offer on DonorsChoose.org.
"I'm so thankful for the opportunity to learn... to refresh myself, and you made that possible. Because you made that possible, I get to turn around and give that to my students."- Jaime Barkley, Glencoe High School, Gadsen, AL.

Virtual Pathfinders Summer Institute 2022

The Foundation welcomed 570 educators at the virtual Pathfinders Summer Institute 2022, who received full scholarships to attend one of 14 virtual CS and Maker Education professional development courses offered on the Infosys Springboard/Pathfinders Online Institute from May - August 2022.
"The fact that I took these courses during the summer and plan on taking more courses through the (Pathfinders) Institute, shows my students that lifelong learning is important... it shows them the importance of education beyond the classroom."- Kelly Parker, Pathfinders Institute alumnus

Pathfinders Summer Institute 2022 - USVI

The Infosys Foundation USA hosted the Pathfinders Summer Institute USVI in partnership with the University of the Virgin Islands and the Georgia Institute of Technology - for over 60 educators from St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. They engaged in computer science and maker education curriculum from Chibitronics, BirdBrain and Micro:bit in a fun, hands-on, meaningful way. This program aimed to broaden access to digital skills while equally appreciating the unique aspects of the US Virgin Islands culture, an underrepresented group in the computer science and STEM fields. To read more, click here.

Pathfinders Summer Institute 2021

The Infosys Foundation USA hosted its fourth annual Pathfinders Summer Institute from July 18-23, 2021! This engaging virtual professional development experience brought together hundreds of K-12 public school teachers for a week of computer science and maker education.

K-12 public school teachers from 46 states, who teach across multiple disciplines, came together in our virtual classroom to build new skills to bring back to their students. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming Pathfinders Institutes and we hope to see you in our virtual classroom soon!

Pathfinders Winter Institute 2021

The Infosys Foundation USA hosted its second annual Pathfinders Winter Institute virtually, February 12-15, 2021. While it was not in-person due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was an engaging virtual professional development opportunity that engaged 279 K-12 public school computer science and maker educators from 46 states. Of the attendees, 175 teachers were completely new to computer science, and 206 were from Title 1 Schools! To gain insight about what an in-person Pathfinders Institute looks like, check out our video to the right that recaps the 2020 Pathfinders Winter Institute, which took place in Providence, RI and hosted 250 teachers from 40 states for a week of hands-on professional development in computer science and maker education.

Pathfinders Online Institute

The Pathfinders Online Institute is a dynamic online learning platform that is part of the wider Infosys Springboard initiative bringing high-quality computer science and maker ed content for K-12 students, teachers, and families. Creating an account gives free access to high-quality resources such as professional development, live webinars and instructional resources from a variety of leading content developers. In addition to providing asynchronous content, the Pathfinders Online Institute is designed to encourage community among the 15, 000+ (and growing) users of the digital learning platform.

Foundation

Support

Connect with us

Copyright © 2023 Infosys Limited

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Infosys Foundation USA brings Pathfinders Summer Institute 2023. Enroll free into 20+ virtual professional development courses aligning to K-12+ standards.

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micro:bit & the Global Goals

do your :bit brings together the micro:bit and the UN's Global Goals to provide inspiring activities for your classroom or club and an exciting digital challenge for you to run.

Resources for your classrooms and code clubs

Use the resources on this page to introduce the Global Goals, have fun with the micro:bit and develop world-changing ideas and solutions using technology.

The do your :bit challenge is changing

From January 2023 anyone who wants to run do your :bit in their school or club can do so with the support of our online resources. To ensure as many young people as possible can get involved and inspired, do your :bit is no longer run as a global competition by the Micro:bit Educational Foundation.

If you are running a do your :bit challenge for your students, we'd love to hear about it. Email us on info@microbit.org and tell us about your plans, or share your creations on social media using #doyourbitwithmicrobit.

Run your own do your :bit challenge

do your :bit challenge pack

To help you run the challenge, we've put together a pack of materials to help you celebrate your students' success, each step of the way.

Download certificates, posters, bunting, sticker sheets and our logo to run your own do your :bit challenge. The download bundle also includes guidelines for use of the do your :bit logo.

Global Goals guides

The UN's Global Goals or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity for everyone while protecting the planet. Use our guides to introduce the Goals to students and young people.

micro:bit projects

Quick projects in MakeCode to help you explore the Global Goals with the micro:bit!

Lessons

Use our Lessons to run prototyping activities linked to the Global Goals.

Only available in English language.

Inspiration

You can get inspired in your own classroom by exploring the creative solutions designed by previous participants in the do your :bit challenge.

do your :bit is no longer run as a global competition by the Micro:bit Educational Foundation but you can use our resources to run your own local version and ensure as many young people as possible can get involved.

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do your :bit activities for your classroom

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do your :bit brings together the micro:bit and the UN's Global Goals to provide inspiring activities for your classroom or club.

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Favorite 1st Project with m:b ROCK PAPER SCISSOR

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Favorite 1st Project with m:b ROCK PAPER SCISSOR

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Learn about how computers use random numbers, variables and selection to recreate a classic two-player game of chance.

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ELECFREAKS Retro Coding Arcade for Microsoft Makecode

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ELECFREAKS Retro Coding Arcade for Microsoft Makecode

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MakeCode Tutorials are a great resource for student learning

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MakeCode Tutorials are a great resource for student learning

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Teaching computer science

Whether at home or in the classroom, MakeCode provides captivating experiences for students to learn computing concepts at their own pace through personally meaningful projects.

Explore some of the lessons, tutorials and curriculum available with MakeCode.

Learn more

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Microsoft MakeCode Computer Science Education

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MakeCode brings computer science to life for all students with fun projects, immediate results, and both block and text editors for learners at different levels.

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I built a library for MicroPython on the micro:bit.

Testing is needed, so give it a try!

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Contribute to CodeJoyEducation/microbit-servo-python development by creating an account on GitHub.

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I transcoded the MakeCode Hummingbird blocks into a MicroPython library for the micro:bit.

If you want to try using your Hummingbird bit with MicroPython give this a try!

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Contribute to CodeJoyEducation/hummingbird-python development by creating an account on GitHub.

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Here is a series of gists (code examples) for various tasks you might find useful! Many of them are for the micro:bit with MicroPython.

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GitHub Gist: star and fork CodeJoyEducation's gists by creating an account on GitHub.

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"It's the perfect Papert tool. Low floor, no ceiling." Diego Fonstad on the micro:bit

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"It's the perfect Papert tool. Low floor, no ceiling." Diego Fonstad on the micro:bit

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"How do we lower the cost of iteration for students? That's what  good maker tools do." -Diego Fonstad

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"How do we lower the cost of iteration for students? That's what  good maker tools do." -Diego Fonstad

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Anne's recommendation

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We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile 2 - Big Bite Blue

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Shop Amazon for We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile 2 - Big Bite Blue and find millions of items, delivered faster than ever.

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WORX WX082L 4V ZipSnip Cordless Electric Scissors

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WORX WX082L 4V ZipSnip Cordless Electric Scissors

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Karie recommendation

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WORX WX082L 4V ZipSnip Cordless Electric Scissors

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WORX WX082L 4V ZipSnip Cordless Electric Scissors - Amazon.com

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https://www.amazon.com/WORX-WX081L-ZipSnip-Cutting-Tool/dp/B019CSHSW8/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2X4LZ4L1QFIZW&keywords=worx+cutting+tool&qid=1691185752&sprefix=workx+cu%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Makedo-Discover-Cardboard-Construction-Versatile/dp/B08X4ZX456/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1K2OJQ20FKJBN&keywords=stem+maker+tools&qid=1691185540&sprefix=stem+maker+tools%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/We-Memory-Keepers-Crop-Dile/dp/B0019K3QD8/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=616863298944&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1025202&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11430735124184039598&hvtargid=kwd-6877879541&hydadcr=26614_11715055&keywords=cropodile&qid=1691185535&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Cordless-Electric-SnapFresh-Cardboard-Replacement/dp/B0B8J1LQY5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=173FCH39HWMLE&keywords=cardboard%2Bcutter&qid=1691185303&sprefix=card%2Bboard%2Bcutter%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

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WORX WX082L 4V ZipSnip Cordless Electric Scissors

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WORX WX082L 4V ZipSnip Cordless Electric Scissors - Amazon.com

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What Are Habits of Mind? - The Institute for Habits of Mind

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For Teachers Ever find yourself doubting whether you are creative? Many people assume that creativity is a rare commodity that someone is either born with or not and that it is reserved for the elite among us: artists, writers, and composers, or the likes of Miles Davis, Steve Jobs, or Frida Kahlo.

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Jasmine Florentine, Maker, Artist, Author

@jrflorentine

Topic: Making Project Trix

https://www.jasmineflorentine.com/

Book

Free project resources

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Save on supplies like hot glue and duct tape!

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Sep 26, 2021 · 5 Minute Demo: Cardboard Attachment Techniques | Choice-Based Art Education · Chapters ...
Duration: 7:12
Posted: Sep 26, 2021

Oct 16, 2018 · In this video I will demonstrate 7 different ways to attach cardboard including flange, L-brace ...
Duration: 10:38
Posted: Oct 16, 2018

Nov 11, 2020 · Comments4 · Cardboard Construction Techniques · Basic Cardboard Techniques 102 - Lots ...
Duration: 11:26
Posted: Nov 11, 2020

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cardboard attachment techniques - Google Search

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

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Perfect, short activity for design thinking, problem solving and collaboration

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Ready, Set, Design is one of our favorite group activities, for adults and kids alike, at Cooper-Hewitt. It's a highly adaptable design challenge that can jump-start collaborative and creative thinking in any group. We use it with kids' groups at the Museum, for internal staff meetings, and even at industry conferences and summits we host. The activity is such a success with our participants that we've gotten a lot of requests for a how-to guide.

Here it is! We created this short instructional video and accompanying PDF that explain Ready, Set, Design for group leaders. Use it at your next meeting, class, rehearsal, or brainstorm session - any place you need a fresh burst of creativity.

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Ready, Set, Design! | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

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Ready, Set, Design is one of our favorite group activities, for adults and kids alike, at Cooper-Hewitt. It's a highly adaptable design challenge that can jump-start collaborative and creative thinking in any group. We use it with kids' groups at the Museum, for internal staff meetings, and even at industry conferences and summits we host.

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Some Computer Science with out the Computer

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We've compiled a list of all of our unplugged lessons for you to use in your classroom. Now you can teach the fundamentals of computer science, whether you have computers in your classroom or not!

We refer to lessons in which students are not working on a computer as "unplugged." Students will often work with pencil and paper or physical manipulatives. These are intentionally placed kinesthetic opportunities that help students digest complicated concepts in ways that relate to their own lives.

Unplugged lessons are particularly useful for building and maintaining a collaborative classroom environment, and they are useful touchstone experiences you can refer to when introducing more abstract concepts. Each of these activities can either be used alone or with other computer science lessons on related concepts.

Ages 4+, English only

Course

Lesson Plan

Concept

Video

Loops

Impacts of Computing

Course C

Sequencing

Loops

C.15 - Binary Bracelets
*Supplies: Markers. Optional - 18 black/18 white beads, 1 pipe cleaner per student
Binary is extremely important in the world of computers. The majority of computers today store all sorts of information in binary form. This lesson helps demonstrate how it is possible to take something from real life and translate it into a series of ons and offs.

Binary

Impacts of Computing

Digital Citizenship

Course F

Variables

For Loops

The following lessons are organized by concept and can be found in earlier versions of our CS Fundamentals courses. Additional resources you may want to consult as you plan to use these lessons include:

Digital Citizenship
Crowdsourcing

*Common Sense Education has a full Digital Citizenship Curriculum that includes many unplugged activities.

Functions

Functional Suncatchers
In this lesson, students will make a suncatcher out of string, beads, and a special charm. The students will follow a series of repetitive steps, then be asked to identify certain sets of "skills" that are duplicated several times. Once those skills are defined, they will be called from a main program and the whole beautiful process of creation will be recorded on a single sheet of paper. The final program will be geared toward the entire class, whatever their type of string, beads, and charms. To effectively allow for this, students will need to "abstract out" the details of their specific materials and create vague terms for an individual's supplies. This use of generic placeholders is a wonderful introduction to variables.

Lesson Video
See Lesson in Action
Activity Answer Key Assessment Answer Key

Algorithms

Dice Race
In this lesson, students will relate the concept of algorithms back to real-life activities by playing the Dice Race game. The goal here is to start building the skills to translate real-world situations to online scenarios and vice versa.

Computational Thinking

Computational Thinking with Monsters
With nothing but paper and markers, students will learn the four steps of computational thinking. After a brief introduction, students should be split into groups where they will have to create directions for other students to draw a specific monster (from a catalog of pre-selected monsters). The entire task must be decomposed, then teams will analyze all monsters in the catalog for patterns, abstract similar details from the monsters, then use that information to create an algorithm (directions) for another team to draw a certain monster. Teams will then switch algorithms with another group and draw the monster based on what that algorithm indicates. Is the drawing what the original team intended?

Persistence

Building a Foundation
New and unsolved problems are often pretty hard. If we want to have any chance of making something creative, useful, and clever, then we need to be willing to attack hard problems even if it means failing a few times before we succeed. In this lesson, students will be building a structure with common materials. The structure will be tested on its ability to hold a textbook for more than ten seconds. Most students will not get this right the first time, but it's important they push through and keep trying.

Abstraction

Mad Glibs
Abstraction is one of the most important skills for a computer scientist to understand. It simplifies problems and prevents unnecessary repetition. A good coder uses abstraction just about every time she creates a program. This activity will have your students analyze stories for differences so that they can abstract them away. Those abstracted stories become templates for fun and crazy new ones.

Variables ​

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We've compiled a list of all of our unplugged lessons for you to use in your classroom. Now you can teach the fundamentals of computer science, whether you have computers in your classroom or not! We refer to lessons in which students are not working on a computer as "unplugged."

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For people who are interested Mike put together a small python library for direct servo control. It needs some testing :)

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For people who are interested Mike put together a small python library for direct servo control. It needs some testing :)

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Contribute to CodeJoyEducation/microbit-servo-python development by creating an account on GitHub.

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Mike also translated the Hummingbird MakeCode blocks into Python: 

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Mike also translated the Hummingbird MakeCode blocks into Python: 

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Contribute to CodeJoyEducation/microbit-hummingbird-python development by creating an account on GitHub.

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Sarah FitzHenry

Learning and Community Manager

Sarah FitzHenry is an educator working to provide equitable and engaging learning experiences for all students. As the Learning and Community Manager for BirdBrain Technologies, she connects, supports, and empowers educators all over the world as they bring creative robotics into their classrooms. Sarah is a tech geek, maker, writer, volunteer, and co-host of the Once Upon a Tech podcast. A Jane-of-all-trades, she can be found in Charlottesville, Virginia making mistakes, learning new things, and asking a lot of questions.

Erica Hogan

Operations Coordinator

Erica is responsible for many of the day to day operations at BirdBrain. She processes and creates orders, provides quotes, and manages the demo programs. She has a background in Secondary English Education and a Masters degree in Library and Information Science. Erica is an avid reader and in her free time she enjoys baking, playing D&D, and crafting.

Ed Hulefeld

Partnerships & Sales Manager

Ed is responsible for working with our reseller partners and leading our sales efforts. He taught high school math for 12 years and has a Masters in Educational Administration. His second career has been in EdTech sales and sales leadership. Ed is passionate about supporting the development of young people, including as a high school basketball referee. On weekends he can be found feeding his golf addiction.

Jenna Kindler

Business Manager

Jenna is your go-to team member for sales and business services, and, unofficially, cooking tips! Earlier in her career, Jenna led the design of museum curricula and exhibits, and participated in research projects funded by the National Science Foundation. Along with elementary teacher licensure and a Masters of Education degree in curriculum and instruction, Jenna offers experience with grants and philanthropic relations.

Tom Lauwers, Ph.D.

Founder & CEO

Tom founded BirdBrain Technologies in 2010 after receiving his doctorate in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. His research was founded on engaging all students, regardless of background, in robotics and engineering. Tom seeks to design educational tools that catalyze positive making, coding, and engineering learning experiences in the classroom. Tom resides in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood with his wife, two kids, cat, and a small army of robots. He would be an invaluable ally in the event of a robot uprising.

Jen Norton

Product Coach

Jen provides technical support, curriculum development, and classroom integration strategies to teachers. With over 11 years of teaching Math and Computer Science, Jen is passionate about making Computer Science education accessible for all students. Jen resides in a quiet suburb outside of Atlanta with her husband, son, and two cats. In her free time, you can find Jen reading, playing video games, or going for a cruise in her '65 Mustang.

Jake Sam

Operations Associate

Jake is responsible for day to day shipping and operations at BirdBrain. He processes orders, handles tech support, and creates and edits videos. He has a background in Film Studies and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. Jake is a gamer and film buff and in his free time enjoys playing basketball and tracking sports stats.

Tyler Shetler

Shipping Specialist

Tyler assists in the day-to-day shipping and operations at BirdBrain. He processes, packs, and helps manage the inventory for all our orders. Tyler graduated from Duquesne University and has a background in Economics and Business Administration. In his spare time, Tyler is an avid sports fan and gamer. He is often harassed at home by his two cats.

Matt Chilbert

Professional Development Provider

Matt provides online professional development for BirdBrain Technologies. Working with organizations like the Jim Henson Company, The Lawrence Hall of Science, and Sesame Workshop, Matt has found his niche directly between the worlds of entertainment and education. A craftsman, a filmmaker, and a teacher, Matt has spent the last 20 years looking for new ways to engage young minds through storytelling and technology.

Kelsey Derringer

Professional Development Provider

Kelsey provides online professional development for BirdBrain Technologies. She has been an educator for over 15 years, working as a classroom English teacher and an after-school STEM teacher. Kelsey specializes in creating hands-on STEM learning experiences that are both fun and relevant to real classrooms. In her free time, Kelsey is also an avid writer and musician.

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Erica is responsible for many of the day to day operations at BirdBrain. She processes and creates orders, provides quotes, and manages the demo programs. She has a background ...

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About BirdBrain's Owlet math manipulative

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About BirdBrain's Owlet math manipulative

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Owlet Math Tools - BirdBrain Technologies

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Research and development generously funded by STTR grants from the National Science Foundation

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Working with robotics teaches more than just coding and digital fluency. Projects with the Finch help students to develop soft skills like problem solving, resiliency, and creativity in an engaging, hands-on way. Students will develop into stronger critical thinkers, collaborators, and leaders - all while having fun!

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Finch Robot 2.0 - BirdBrain Technologies

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Working with robotics teaches more than just coding and digital fluency. Projects with the Finch help students to develop soft skills like problem solving, resiliency, and creativity in an engaging, hands-on way. Students will develop into stronger critical thinkers, collaborators, and leaders - all while having fun!

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Working with robotics teaches more than just coding and digital fluency. Projects with the Hummingbird Kit help students to develop soft skills like problem solving, resiliency, and creativity in an engaging, hands-on way. Students will develop into stronger critical thinkers, collaborators, and leaders - all while having fun!

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Hummingbird Bit Robotics Kit - BirdBrain Technologies

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Working with robotics teaches more than just coding and digital fluency. Projects with the Hummingbird Kit help students to develop soft skills like problem solving, resiliency, and creativity in an engaging, hands-on way. Students will develop into stronger critical thinkers, collaborators, and leaders - all while having fun!

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"A Pep Talk for the Sunday Scaries for Teachers"

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"A Pep Talk for the Sunday Scaries for Teachers"

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Flocking Amazing - a podcast from BirdBrain Technologies

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Flocking Amazing Podcast - BirdBrain Technologies

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micro:bit Accessories - what else can you do with the m:b?

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micro:bit Accessories - what else can you do with the m:b?

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Searchable catalogue of accessories and add-ons designed to work with the BBC micro:bit

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Build your own simple, cheap Robotics with m:b

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Build your own simple, cheap Robotics with m:b

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Ring Bit
https://www.elecfreaks.com/ring-bit-v2-for-micro-bit.html

Neopixels
https://shop.elecfreaks.com/products/elecfreaks-octopus-rainbow-led-strip-and-gvs-conector-10-leds?variant=40398207844431

Servos
https://shop.elecfreaks.com/products/elecfreaks-micro-servo-360-degrees-digital-servo?_pos=3&_sid=b663a71b7&_ss=r

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The micro:bit Ring:bit expansion board is a simple PCB for the micro:bit. The micro:bit Ring:bit extends the micro:bit's 3 GPIO ports. We will use this module to convert the P0/P1/P2 port to the common GVS port. It can be loaded with 3 AAA batteries to drive the car or other components.

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The Climate Action Kit comes with all of the robotic hardware including sensors, motors, and building blocks to complete a variety of coding projects.

The kit also includes access to our online learning portal where educators and students can access step-by-step building & coding tutorials.

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The Climate Action Kit is micro:bit powered coding & robotics kit with curriculum-aligned lesson plans and an online learning platform. Designed for grades 3-10. Fast shipping.

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Micro Bit Smart Home Kit: turn your home into a smart sanctuary

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The Micro Bit Smart Home Kit is a complete package that combines a Micro Bit circuit board, sensors, actuators, and Internet connectivity to create a smart home system.

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Use this guide to introduce the Global Goals to your students.

What are the Global Goals?

The Global Goals are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity for everyone while protecting the planet.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked goals with actions agreed by all 193 member countries of the United Nations in 2015.

It is the most ambitious international agreement ever made, to eradicate poverty and inequality, protect health and prevent climate change.

Introductory video

This short film addresses why we need the Global Goals and what they are. Show your students this video, then try one of the activities below.

The animation, introduced by Malala Yousafzai and written by Sir Ken Robinson, is a great way to introduce the Global Goals.

Activity 1: Global Goals superpower!

In this activity students will explore how they could achieve the Goals if they could do anything.
Age 8-11, length - 30 mins
Use whole group discussion and small group work to explore the Goals, understand why they exist, learn about some of the impacts and challenges and use the concept of super powers to explore how ideas for solutions can contribute to positive change.

Activity 2: Think like you are the President!

In this activity students will discuss why we need the Global Goals.
Age 11-13, length - 15 mins
Display the question: 'What are the biggest problems faced by people in our community/country/worldwide?' (Adapt as appropriate).

Ask the children what they think about this question. Encourage them to think from the perspectives of others - "Think like you are the president of the country!". Give students some time to discuss in pairs, then take some suggestions from the group. These could be written onto a board at the front.

Show students the Global Goals grid (available to download at the bottom of this guide). Compare their lists of problems with The Global Goals. Which Goal(s) do each of their problems relate to?

In a larger group you could have 17 students stand at the front with their backs to the room. Each student holds a sheet of paper with one of The Global Goals written on it. When someone suggests the problem tackled by their Goal they turn around.

Activity 3: Connecting the Global Goals to Real-Life

In this activity students will explore how they could help achieve the Goals and what that future would look like.
Age 8-13, length - 30 mins
Download the Global Goals grid here ​

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In these free video courses, our PD team will teach you the basics of programming, building, and teaching with the Hummingbird Robotics Kit.* These courses will also present projects to inspire your own classroom integration and walk you through our free online resources.

Each video course will take you approximately 2-3 hours to complete.
*Please note that these courses are designed for Hummingbird Bit. Duo users can still watch, but they will need to adjust the technical instructions.

Introduction to programming, building, and teaching creative robotics

Mini-courses on building creative robots

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Hummingbird Bit Video Courses - BirdBrain Technologies

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In these free video courses, our PD team will teach you the basics of programming, building, and teaching with the Hummingbird Robotics Kit.* These courses will also present projects to inspire your own classroom integration and walk you through our free online resources. Each video course will take you approximately 2-3 hours to complete.

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Description

This high-torque standard servo now comes in a metal-gear flavor, for extra-high torque (10 kg*cm!) and reliability! It can rotate at least 120 degrees (60 in each direction) with a classic 1.5-2.5ms pulse, but if you can extend your pulses it can go up to about 170 degrees - it varies a bit servo-to-servo. You can use any servo code, hardware, or library to control these servos. Good for beginners who want to make stuff move without building a motor controller with feedback & gearbox. Comes with a bunch of plastic horns, as shown. We now carry the Tower-Pro MG-995, they are very nice, high-quality servos, excellent for use in robotics.

To control with an Arduino, we suggest connecting the orange control wire to pin 9 or 10 and using the Servo library included with the Arduino IDE ( see here for an example sketch). Position "0" (1.5ms pulse) is middle, "90" (~2ms pulse) is all the way to the right, "-90" (~1ms pulse) is all the way to the left.

Note that the default servo pulse widths (usually 1ms to 2ms) may not give you a full 180 degrees of motion. In that case, check if you can set your servo controller to custom pulse lengths and try 0.75ms to 2.25ms. You can try shorter/longer pulses but be aware that if you go too far you could break your servo!

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standard size - high torque - metal gear servo : id 1142 tools gift certificates arduino cables sensors leds books breakout boards power el wire/tape/panel components & parts lcds & displays wearables prototyping raspberry pi wireless young engineers 3d printing neopixels kits & projects robotics & cnc accessories cosplay/costuming halloween reseller and school packs internet of things - iot development boards batteries feather circuitpython circuit playground crickit - creative robotics particle stemma machine learning micro:bit add-ons & accessories bluetooth ppe microchip mechanical keyboards clearance sale ecommerce

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Standard Size - High Torque - Metal Gear Servo

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Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits Standard Size - High Torque - Metal Gear Servo : ID 1142 - This high-torque standard servo now comes in a metal-gear flavor, for extra-high torque (10 kg*cm!) and reliability!

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We recommend that you build Elby with 2 3x3x3 boxes and the full-sized position servos, but this robot can also be made using any small box that you have available. It can also be made using the Micro Servos that come with the Hummingbird Base Kit.

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The Little House: A Caldecott Award Winner

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Amazon.com: The Little House: A Caldecott Award Winner: 8601234576419: Burton, Virginia Lee: Books

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This video shows the several prototypes and tests I made while making the whales. Plus some amazing bellyflops!

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I decided to try out Adobe Premier Rush to make a little video of my design process so far with a couple of bloopers included. There’s still a lot of work left to do, so I’m sure I’ll have more footage (and bloopers) by the end.

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I decided to try out Adobe Premier Rush to make a little video of my design process so far with a couple of bloopers included. There’s still a lot of work left to do, so I’m sure I’ll have more footage (and bloopers) by the end. https://t.co/hq6dLc9uhw

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I decided to try out Adobe Premier Rush to make a little video of my design process so far with a couple of bloopers included. There’s still a lot of work left to do, so I’m sure I’ll have more footage (and bloopers) by the end. pic.twitter.com/hq6dLc9uhw
— Cecilia Hillway (@ceciliahillway) February 26, 2021

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I decided to try out Adobe Premier Rush to make a little video of my design process so far with a couple of bloopers included. There’s still a lot of work left to do, so I’m sure I’ll have more footage (and bloopers) by the end. https://t.co/hq6dLc9uhw

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
I decided to try out Adobe Premier Rush to make a little video of my design process so far with a couple of bloopers included. There’s still a lot of work left to do, so I’m sure I’ll have more footage (and bloopers) by the end. https://t.co/hq6dLc9uhw

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
I decided to try out Adobe Premier Rush to make a little video of my design process so far with a couple of bloopers included. There’s still a lot of work left to do, so I’m sure I’ll have more footage (and bloopers) by the end.

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This is the second part of the videos I made while I was making the whales. It really shows the watercolor painting+cardboard technique I use that some people were asking about.

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Here’s a quick “making of” video for my cetaceans project. To keep it short I cut out a lot of testing and small steps. My process is NOT an exact science. I do a lot of trial and error. And a lot of waiting for glue, paint, UV coating, etc. to dry.

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Here’s a quick “making of” video for my cetaceans project. To keep it short I cut out a lot of testing and small steps. My process is NOT an exact science. I do a lot of trial and error. And a lot of waiting for glue, paint, UV coating, etc. to dry. https://t.co/YMbVMeRrLe

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Here’s a quick “making of” video for my cetaceans project. To keep it short I cut out a lot of testing and small steps. My process is NOT an exact science. I do a lot of trial and error. And a lot of waiting for glue, paint, UV coating, etc. to dry. pic.twitter.com/YMbVMeRrLe
— Cecilia Hillway (@ceciliahillway) March 7, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Here’s a quick “making of” video for my cetaceans project. To keep it short I cut out a lot of testing and small steps. My process is NOT an exact science. I do a lot of trial and error. And a lot of waiting for glue, paint, UV coating, etc. to dry. https://t.co/YMbVMeRrLe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Here’s a quick “making of” video for my cetaceans project. To keep it short I cut out a lot of testing and small steps. My process is NOT an exact science. I do a lot of trial and error. And a lot of waiting for glue, paint, UV coating, etc. to dry. https://t.co/YMbVMeRrLe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Here’s a quick “making of” video for my cetaceans project. To keep it short I cut out a lot of testing and small steps. My process is NOT an exact science. I do a lot of trial and error. And a lot of waiting for glue, paint, UV coating, etc. to dry.