Making a Case for Arduino - ETP17

@kshuntley#PukunuiTips @kshuntley

Making a Case for Arduino

EdtechPosium 2017 #etp17 @kshuntley

Kenneth Scott Huntley Consultant/Trainer

• There’s a chance you’ve come to this thinking “OMG Let’s make a case for my Arduino!”

@kshuntleyEdtechPosium 2017 #etp17 @kshuntley



3D Printers at ALDI for only $300 BUCKS! Woo-hoo!

Let’s fire this up and print some arduino cases! Woo-hoo! Maker

Faire! ROCK ON!



Well firstly, this doesn’t go on sale until November 1st.

…but the closest ALDI is at Majura Park


• My apologies because we ain’t doing that today.

• But in this presentation, I’m going to make a case for why Arduino should be a candidate for teaching programming to beginners.

• And I have three reasons why.


1. Arduino is similar to C



The computer language C is probably an extremely strong

candidate for a Intro to Programming class.

Why?


The computer language C is probably an extremely strong

candidate for a Intro to Programming class.

Why?



Syntax Similar to C

Syntax Similar to C

Syntax Similar to C

Syntax Similar to CSyntax Similar to C

Syntax Similar to CSomewhat Similar to Objective-C

Actually is C

Arduino is similar to CSo many languages have a syntax similar to C, that it’s advantageous to teach something similar to C.

• Making a transition to another language should be easier as you don’t need to relearn the syntax.

• Perhaps there’s a counter argument that teaching a language such as SmallTalk would be a better candidate to teach concepts such as Object Oriented Programming unencumbered by the syntax.

• But that doesn’t fit this narrative so…


In what universe is Arduino similar to C?


This is C

This is Arduino

• So what is Arduino?

• Open Source microcontroller board.

• This particular one is the Uno, Italian for first - a perfect starter board.

• It has 6 analog input pins and 14 input/output pins.

• i.e. you can hook up sensors to it (input)

• or turn on motors or lights (output)



• It comes with an IDE for you to write sketches for your board.

• i.e. a sketch is a program


This does look like C.


setup() function is run once when the board is turned on.

loop() function is run forever until the board is turned off.


This is the Arduino “Hello World” - blink an led on the board every second.


Teach all the concepts!!

variables, constants, arrays, control structures, loops, data

types, functions, external libraries, etc


And when you’re ready to C, C++, PHP, JavaScript, etc, you know the basic concepts

and have learned them in a syntax similar to C.


Too much too fast?


There’s even alternative IDEs, like Ardublock, which show your sketches visually and may help some learners

visualise their code.

2. Arduino is fun


Arduino is fun• When teaching programming at TAFE, I had trouble

getting my cohort of students interested in programming.

• They have grown up in a culture where turning on pixels on a screen ain’t exciting.

• Blinking an actual physical light is far more exciting.

• They can see the actual connection between their screens and the real world.


Arduino is gateway to IOT & the Maker Culture


Meet the Arduino “Lilypad”.

All the fun of Arduino + sewing with conductive thread.


Let’s make a tie, and add a sensor, like a temperature sensor, and an RGB LED to

change colours based on the temperature.


Or a whole lot of RGB LEDs!


Why not connect it to a Light Blue Bean and connect it to my iPhone and receive notifications to turn on the RGB LEDs?


Or the Particle Photon, so I can connect over wifi; and they have an IFTTT

channel!


Or, let’s use an UDOO NEO, which is a hybrid Raspberry Pi type

board and an Arduino board. You can program the board on the board!

And the pins are set up to use Arduino shields.


Arduino shields! Stack them on your Arduino to add

more functionality - like an Ethernet shield! Let’s get this

online!


Or this shield that has LED numeric displays.


Did I mention Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi is AWESOME!


But the teeny tiny Raspberry Pi Zero is SUPER

AWESOME!

I can lose this in my couch cushions!


Raspberry Pi CASES! OMG So beautiful!


OOOOOHHHH so Beautiful! WANT WANT WANT


IoT is so much fun, you end up bringing more pieces

to conferences than you can ever hope to demo in a 20 minute

talk.

This board is the gateway drug



Of course, when you’re trying to convince your

partner to go to ALDI tomorrow to buy a 3D printer because

you’re travelling, you might get the whole “look at all the money

you’ve spent!”

Oh no my love, because…

3. Arduino is cheap


• So now that you want an Arduino Uno, how much is it going to cost you?

• Arduino Uno from Little Bird Electronics is $55

• Core Electronics sells at $42

• Still a little pricey to buy for a whole class of 20 students.


• Arduino is Open Source hardware

• i.e you can buy a knock off and not feel too bad about yourself

• Sparkfun Redboard - same thing as the Uno, except with a different USB port

• $29 from Core and Little Bird


• Let’s get even cheaper

• banggood.com

• You can make your own joke at that website name

• Also check out aliexpress.com

• Both based in China, takes a little while to arrive in Australia

• Usually have very good prices


• The Geekcreit on Banggood

• An UNO clone

• $29, shipping included

• FOR 5 OF THEM!




At $3.64 a pop, suddenly outfitting a classroom with Arduino UNO clones isn’t as

outrageous.

Buy 20 boards, a handful of sensors and shields to share, maybe spring for some cheap cases, you have an IOT lab before you

know it.

• Is this the best way to run an Intro to Programming type class?

• Perhaps not.

• Teaching a traditional programming language such as C, or even something fun like Python, is probably still the best option.

• But this could be a fun alternative, especially with a non-traditional class

• It can open the doors to non-programmer types to see that programming isn’t just pixels on a screen.



arduino.cc

arduino.cc/en/Main/Education

Thank You! Questions?

Continue the conversation:


@kshuntley

www.linkedin.com/in/kshuntley/

learn.pukunui.com or www.scott.technology

[email protected] or [email protected]

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