STEMLabs

Our last workshop focused on using the Visual Programmer Language (VPL) to control sensors, motors, and LED's plugged into Hummingbird Boards.  While participants developed a number of very creative, interactive devices (I'll show some examples in the next post), some folks realized there were some limits to what they could build using VPL.  One group wished to build a sound activated stop light for their cafeteria.  They were able to build a light that would stay green until a certain noise level was reached, then it would turn red.  But we couldn't find a way to add an intermediate orange "Warning" light.  There might be a way to do that with VPL, but it might be simpler just to use the Scratch programming language.  Hummingbird does provide an example of a traffic light as part of their Scratch tutorial, and I'll provide a link to that site further down in this post. Installing Scratch for the Hummingbird does require some extra steps and a couple of d...

In this workshop we'll be reviewing the basics for connecting and programming your Hummingbird Board using the Visual Programmer Language.  We'll also look at some example projects, from the Hummingbird site, and talk about possible SOL topics that might be good fits for students Hummingbird projects.  I've uploaded the PowerPoint for the talk here .  I've included some links in the presentation, for sample projects as well as a great tutorial on the Hummingbird.  The materials can all be found on the www.hummingbirdkit.com site under the Learning (tutorial) and Teaching (sample projects) tabs.

The BBC micro:bit is a very small (about half the size of a credit card), affordable ($16.50 for Sparkfun.com's Go bundle which includes the micro:bit, a cable, battery pack and batteries) codeable computer. The online coding environment lets you program with a Microsoft Block Editor (very similar to Scratch), Python, Java, or C++.  The environment includes an image simulating the bit so that programs can be tested online before downloading to the micro:bit. It's very easy to develop programs that let you control the LED array and the two buttons, creating scrolling text messages, images, and simple games.  The bit also has a motion detector and a compass. Sparkfun has put together a number of kits for extending the micro:bit including a weather station, robot car, and Inventor's Kit.  Sparkfun has also developed some excellent (as usual) video tutorials and guides for the bit.  Here's the link to the Go bundle and beginner's tutorial: https://www.sp...