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@acrosseducation
Great news! A new website is ready
Great news, folks.
I am really proud to introduce my new professional website:
http://makerpro.education
From now on this blog will be dismissed. All the update will be available on my other address.
You can now follow me in my new “virtual studio”. I hope you will like it.
Wearable Gemma: Soft potentiometer + Neopixel strip (tutorial)
Today I worked on a mini project for a forthcoming workshop at Somerset House (London, UK).
I used a Gemma with a soft potentiometer (Plug & Wear) and a neopixel strip.
I took inspiration from this Adafruit post: https://learn.adafruit.com/textile-potentiometer-hoodie/prepare-and-sew-sensor.
Unfortunately the code they posted wasn’t complete so I had to figure out how to make the Gemma work with the wearable sensor and the LEDs.
If you see the picture below, you’ll be able to have a look at the pins connected.
The Neopixel strip (5 Neopixels in total) is connected to:
GND: Ground (Black wire)
Vin: 5V (Red wire)
Pin 1: Signal (Green wire)
On the other side we have the soft potentiometer sewn into:
3.3v
Pin A1
GND
I am also using a small LiPo battery (110mAh) to power the circuit.
Below the code
The idea is to control how fast the LEDs blink thanks to the soft potentiometer
Why I love the #MakerFaire
Here I am, back in London after 10 wonderful days spent in California, 3 of them allocated to the crazy 10th anniversary of the Maker Faire Bay Area.
The participation to this main event about making was mind blowing! The Maker Faire Bay Area is totally different from any other European editions. The vibe itself is completely different, more artistic, I’d say.
The Maker Faire Bay Area for me it’s a kind of Woodstock-summer of love of Making! Despite the chilly, windy and cloudy weather the atmosphere was so thrilling: people everywhere, loudness, colours, crazy inventions and any kind of startups or companies. Literally, there was a little bit of everything.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to go a lot around the Faire, I just had a quick chance on Friday, because of my workshop.
The title of this workshop, that due to some logistical problems became an endless drop-in session on both days of the faire, was: “The power of cloud: Teach physical computing to kids by running SNAP! on an Arduino Yún”. The feedback were pretty enthusiastic both from people that just tried the demo, and from children and adults (mainly teachers) that tested the contents of the workshop. Not bad as the first experience overseas!
Soon I’ll publish some pictures of the sessions!
Makerini is on the road now! More workshops to follow... Stay tuned!
Pinterest board: #DigitalFabrication inspiration
Follow Valentina's board Digital Fabrication on Pinterest. Here some cool stuff I found online ;)
Nyan Cat Rainbow Generator (Video SNAP! + Arduino)
Nyan Cat Rainbow Generator ;-) Powered by SNAP! & Arduino
A video posted by Valentina Chinnici (@eudorina412) on Apr 28, 2015 at 8:04am PDT
A fun exercise to get ready before the Maker Faire San Mateo. I used SNAP! an "extension" the most famous Scratch. The peculiarity of this software is the integration with Arduino: here (http://s4a.cat/snap/) the website of the software with the Arduino expansion. The main website, available online, is here (http://snap.berkeley.edu/). SNAP! was developed at Berkley, and the advantage of this software was the opportunity to build some extra blocks from scratch, with some cool extra features. Check this out!
#MakerFaireBayArea I’m coming!
I am proud to announce that my workshop: “The Power of cloud: Teach physical computing to kids by running SNAP! on an Arduino Yùn” has been accepted to the 10th edition of the Maker Faire Bay Area in San Mateo!
I am so glad and excited! See you there on the 16th and the 17th of May!
Find out more here: http://makerfaire.com/maker/entry/51215/
Back to London after @ullconf
Back to London after 2 amazing days in Ireland! The Úll conference was an amazing success, in an enchanting venue!
I am so pleased to have had the chance to work with so many lovely and creative children!
I am so excited I decided to start a new area of my website dedicated to workshops and conferences !!!
Children did a good job. I had the chance to take a couple of pictures of their creative efforts so, there we go!
Testing an infrared device :)
Wireless devices: the character on the left (the one with curly blond hair) was a buzzer controlled by the device on the right (a pressure sensor)
The drummer: the wireless device mounted on the cup was producing some noises thanks to a vibration motor and a buzzer. Everything was controlled by another device (the two dimmers above).
Messing up with littleBits!
Tinker Crate & Scientibox: a series of tinker kits right to your door!
Today, I’m going to present 2 companies that offer a subscription for monthly STEM inspired boxes delivered directly to your door.
I’m talking about Tinker Crate and Scientibox.
The first company, Tinker Crate by Kiwi Crate, is an American company that offers different kinds of subscriptions. Basically you sign up to this service and you’ll receive once a month a box with STEM related activities divided for age range.
The categories are 4:
* Koala Crate: suitable for pre-schoolers (3 - 4 y.o.) * Kiwi Crate: 4 - 8 y. o. * Tinker Crate: 9 - 14+ y.o. * Doodle Crate: 9 - 16+ y.o.
You can follow them online and watch their instructional videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/tinkercrate
The second company, ScientiBox, is French and similarly they offer different subscriptions for box activities addressed to kids from 9 to 12 y. o. The only limit, in this case, is not the sky... but you have to know French in order to understand what’s written in the kit.
DIY kits for children
I haven't disappreared, I am just working hard on a new exciting project. I've recently quit my job at Ravensbourne to join a new startup in the Maker education field. I know, it's crazy leaving the known for the unknown, but you know, sometimes you have to go with the flow and have the gut to start something new for the sake of trying. Anyway, today I've created a Pinterest board gathering all the most interesting DIY kits for children. I guess some educators will find this resource quite useful and a good starting point to introduce technologies in the classroom.
Follow Valentina's board DIY kits for children on Pinterest.
One hour of code: Processing
BETT 2015: Sir Ken Robinson highlights
One of the best moments at BETT 2015 was, without any doubt, the talk of Sir Ken Robinson.
His TED talk: "How school kills creativity" was watched more than 30 million times on TED. In 1998 he was an advisory committee on creative and cultural education. In 2011 he was listed as “one of the world’s elite thinkers on creativity and innovation” by Fast Company magazine, and was ranked among the Thinkers50 list of the world’s top business thought leaders.
He was a great source of inspiration during my studies in education, because his point of view was so reflective of my ideal of education. So being in the audience was a dream that came true!
It's a shame that his talk is not available online, so I decided to provide some highlights about it.
Sir Ken Robinson started talking about the transformative nature of technologies and about the promotion a "revolutionary education" with a bottom-up perspective.
He compared the OCSE Pisa assessment system to: "Eurovision song contest for education", because it's just based on rating scales that are supposed to be objective, but they don't count other factors such as creativity.
The education as we know it is based on a industrial imprinting, rather than a human process. We should have a new sense of possibilities fostering:
* Imagination
* Creativity
* Innovation
valuing original ideas, vs
* Conformity
* Compliance
* Linearity
typical of Mass education, that recreates obsolete Taylorist-Fordist logics.
Sir Ken Robinson thinks the real challenge is what you make for granted, integrating a strategic power.
Schools are obsessed with culture, but education is about people and talent.
Then he showed this two touching videos:
Highlighting the importance of the human factor and creativity.
He closed his talk with a quotation of Anaïs Nin —
“…The risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”
Loving this work by fellow science-based Etsy artist Rachel Ignotofsky!
Her shop has wonderful illustrations of women in science as well as prints of cell anatomy, the heart, brains, body systems, and more. Love it all <3
(and she has a tumblr! http://rachelignotofsky.tumblr.com)
This is the dawning of the age of "Coding club" - BETT 2015
I had the chance to attend BETT 2015 here in London.
What's BETT?
Bett is the world's leading learning technology event and has been bringing innovation and inspiration to the education sector for over 30 years. Join us, along with over 35,000 of your peers, at ExCeL London in January. Read more: http://www.bettshow.com/Content/About-Bett-2015#ixzz3Pv8cY3mn
The premises presented online are more promising, than what actually is BETT in reality. This is the 2nd year in a row I attend this event, but so far it seems that the technologies presented are more or less the same.
The BETT exhibition is definitely huge, but while walking down the booths you have the impression to live a deja-vu... Similar to what happens with cartoons when the designers try to save time using recurring backgrounds.
A lot of VLEs (more or less the same of last year): Canvas and Firefly above all. A lot of interactive projectors, pointed on the floor, on the walls, on the ceiling. A lot of touch tables, small, medium, big size... And so on.
However the focus of the year was definitely addressed to some "STEM" tools, such as 3D printers and circuitry, and code clubs, because of the requirements of the National Curriculum in the UK. I guess that for an event like this one, incredibly ICT oriented, the switch to "Computational Thinking" is everything, but simple.
The presence of companies like:
Solidlabs: Primo;
Technology will save us;
Code club;
Ultimaker;
Makerbot;
is definitely a sign of the times that are changing, and maybe we can hope for a better future.
I think it's important to consider digital literacy skills as necessary (how to create a document or how to use an app to create a more engaging lesson plan), but the "computational thinking" approach is mandatory for future generation of learners... That's why maybe the BETT exhibition is a good starting point for innovation, but it's almost obsolete, it's not reacting promptly to the changes that are going on out there, in the real world.
Actually, I think the Place for Innovation in STEM and STEAM are Maker Faires and online communities. Teachers can learn and understand more attending a Maker Faire - that, apparently, is planned this summer in London or you can choose the established one in October in Rome - than going to BETT. The impact of Maker Faires is outstanding compared to places like BETT, because there the revolution come from the bottom, from real people that experiment every day and try to make the difference...
What an amazing month! Awards and special mentions...
This month has been very prolific for me!
I am glad to announce I won the #IoTAwards in the category best DIY project, with the Connected Birdhouse! To learn more about this award, please, go to:
http://postscapes.com/internet-of-things-award/2014/winners.html
My "Create your interactive t-shirt workshop" was mentioned also in the "Hall of fame" of the littleBits Community! What a surprise :)
To be continued...
Nesta young digital makers - Infographic
To know more: http://www.nesta.org.uk/project/digital-makers
Best IoT DIY Project. Showcasing the year's best IoT people, products, and companies
Dear followers,
My Connected Birdhouse project has been accepted for the IoT Award 2015.
Please, support my project and help me reach the Podium. There are still 8 days before the poll closes. It's possible to provide one preference a day until the 22nd of Jan.
Thank you for your support.
How to: Lilypad #Arduino with snaps
I am currently thinking about a new wearable tech workshop, and to start planning the activities I wanted to make a test.
Earlier this week I've found an instructional video about soldering snaps to an Adafruit FLORA, but I wasn't sure that it would be possible to solder snaps to a Lilypad as well... Basically because FLORA's pins seem bigger than the ones that the Lilypad has.
Today I tried, and the final result surprised me quite a lot.
You have to be familiar with soldering small pieces together, and actually it's better if you get a third hand tool to make the process simpler and keep your Lilypad firm.
To solder snaps to your Lilypad you have to:
1. Turn your Lilypad upside-down
2. Heat the surface of the pin and melt some tin on top of it.
3. Pull apart the snap and place the piece with the flat surface on top of the pin with melted tin.
3.1 Heat again the pin's surface while placing the flat snap, help yourself with some extra tin.
4. You're done!
