Students explore the underlying behavior of variables through an unplugged activity. Using …
Students explore the underlying behavior of variables through an unplugged activity. Using notecards and string to simulate variables within a program, students implement a few short programs. Once comfortable with this syntax, students use the same process with sprite properties, tracking a sprite's progress across the screen.
By combining the Draw Loop and the Counter Pattern, students write programs …
By combining the Draw Loop and the Counter Pattern, students write programs that move sprites across the screen, as well as animate other sprite properties.
In this lesson students will use the buzzer to its full extent …
In this lesson students will use the buzzer to its full extent by producing sounds, notes, and songs with the buzzer. Students start with a short review of the buzzer's frequency and duration parameters, then move on to the concept of notes. Notes allow students to constrain themselves to frequencies that are used in Western music and provide a layer of abstraction that helps them to understand which frequencies might sound good together. Once students are able to play notes on the buzzer, they use arrays to hold and play sequences of notes, forming simple songs.
Using a _for loop_ to iterate over all of the elements in …
Using a _for loop_ to iterate over all of the elements in an array is a really useful construct in most programming languages. In this lesson, students learn the basics of how a _for loop_ can be used to repeat code, and then combine it with what they've already learned about arrays to write programs that process all elements in an array. Students use for loops to go through each element in a list one at a time without having to write code for each element. Towards the end of the lesson students will apply this with the `colorLed` list on the board to create an app that changes all of the LEDs each time a button is clicked.
In this lesson, students will explore the accelerometer and its capabilities. They’ll …
In this lesson, students will explore the accelerometer and its capabilities. They’ll become familiar with its events and properties, as well as create multiple programs utilizing the accelerometer similar to those they’ve likely come across in real world applications.
The lesson starts with a quick review of parameters, in the context …
The lesson starts with a quick review of parameters, in the context of App Lab blocks that they students have seen recently. Students then look at examples of parameters within user-created functions in App Lab and create and call functions with parameters for themselves, using them to control multiple elements on a screen. Afterwards, students use for loops to iterate over an array, passing each element into a function. Last, students use what they have learned to create a star catching game.
In preparation for this chapter's final project, students will learn how to …
In preparation for this chapter's final project, students will learn how to develop a prototype of a physical object that includes a Circuit Playground. Using a modelled project planning guide, students will learn how to wire a couple of simple circuits and to build prototypes that can communicate the intended design of a product, using cheap and easily found materials such as cardboard and duct tape.
In this final project for the course, students team to develop and …
In this final project for the course, students team to develop and test a prototype for an innovative computing device based on the Circuit Playground. Using the inputs and outputs available on the board, groups will create programs that allow for interesting and unique user interactions.
An array is an ordered collection of items, usually of the same …
An array is an ordered collection of items, usually of the same type. In this lesson, students learn ways to access either a specific or random value from a list using its index. They then learn how to access the colorLEDs array that controls the behavior of the color LEDs on the Circuit Playground. Students will control the color and intensity of each LED, then use what they have learned to program light patterns to create a light show on their Circuit Playground.
To kick off the final unit of this course, students will do …
To kick off the final unit of this course, students will do some research into interesting innovations in computing. This lesson will expose students to wider variety of computing form factors (what a computer looks like) and fields that are impacted by computing. Later in this unit students will look back on the devices they encountered in this lesson as they develop their own physical computing devices.
In Unit 4 students learned a very simple approach to app development …
In Unit 4 students learned a very simple approach to app development in App Lab that required a separate screen for most interactions. To expand the kinds of apps that students can make, and to encourage them to think in new ways about how users interact with apps, we introduce the `setProperty()` block. This command can be used to set the content and properties of various UI elements, allowing students to write programs that update information on a single screen, instead of manually creating duplicate screens. In this lesson students build up simple apps that only require a single screen, the content of which is changed using `setProperty()`.
In this lesson students get their first opportunity to write programs that …
In this lesson students get their first opportunity to write programs that use the Circuit Playground. After first inspecting the board visually and hypothesizing possibly functionalities, students move online where they will learn to write applications that control an LED. By combining App Lab screens with the Circuit Playgrounds, students can gradually start to integrate elements of the board as an ouput device while relying on App Lab for user input.
In preparation for delving deeper into programming with App Lab, students will …
In preparation for delving deeper into programming with App Lab, students will explore how a handful of different programs written in both Game Lab and App Lab handle taking input from the user. After comparing and contrasting the approaches they saw in the example apps, students group up to act out the two different models for input (conditionals in an infinite loop and asynchronous events) to gain a better understanding of how they work.
This lesson transitions students from consider the Circuit Playground as strictly an …
This lesson transitions students from consider the Circuit Playground as strictly an output device towards using it as a tool for both input and output. Starting with the hardware buttons and switch,sing the hardware buttons and switch, students learn to use `onBoardEvent()`, analogously to `onEvent()`, in order to take input from their Circuit Playgrounds.
This lesson introduces students to the `getProperty` block, which allows them to …
This lesson introduces students to the `getProperty` block, which allows them to access the properties of different elements with code. Students first practice using the block to determine what the user has input in various user interface elements. Students later use `getProperty` and `setProperty` together with the counter pattern to make elements move across the screen. A new screen element, the slider, and a new event trigger, `onChange`, are also introduced.
In this lesson, students explore how the three analog sensors (sound, light, …
In this lesson, students explore how the three analog sensors (sound, light, and temperature) can be used to write programs that respond to changes in the environment. The use of these sensors marks a transition in terms of how users interact with a program. By using sensors as an input, the user of an app doesn't have to directly interact with it at all, or may interact without actually realizing they are doing so.
This lesson introduces students to the process they will use to design …
This lesson introduces students to the process they will use to design programs of their own throughout this unit. This process is centered around a project guide which asks students to sketch out their screens, identify elements of the Circuit Playground to be used, define variables, and describe events before they begin programming. This process is similar to the Game Design Process that we used in Unit 3. In this lesson students begin by playing a tug o' war style game where the code is hidden. They discuss what they think the board components, events, and variables would need to be to make the program. They are then given a completed project guide which shows one way to implement the project. Students are then walked through this process through a series of levels. At the end of the lesson students have an opportunity to make improvements to the program to make it their own.
In this lesson, students work in groups to design aluminum foil boats …
In this lesson, students work in groups to design aluminum foil boats that will support as many pennies as possible. Groups have two rounds to work on their boats, with the goal of trying to hold more pennies than they did in round 1. The structure of the activity foreshadows different steps of the problem solving process that students will be introduced to in more detail in the following lesson. At the end of the lesson students reflect on their experiences with the activity and make connections to the types of problem solving they will be doing for the rest of the course.
This lesson introduces the formal problem solving process that students will use …
This lesson introduces the formal problem solving process that students will use over the course of the year, Define - Prepare - Try - Reflect. The lesson begins by asking students to brainstorm all the different types of problems that they encounter in everyday life. Students are then shown the four steps of the problem solving process and work together to relate these abstract steps to their actual experiences solving problems. First students relate these steps to the aluminum boats problem from the previous lesson, then a problem they are good at solving, then a problem they want to improve at solving. At the end of the lesson the class collects a list of generally useful strategies for each step of the process to put on posters that will be used throughout the unit and year.
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