Tetrix Prime Robots

This summer I taught 2 kid camps using Pitsco's new Tetrix Prime robotic set and I'll have to say that I absolutely love how easy this set is to use. The robots are constructed from 16mm aluminum beams and plastic connectors. Pitsco's new quick rivets and thumbscrews make prototyping simple and quick. The kids literally had time to make 6 different robots during our week-long camp. You can find building instructions for several different designs here.

The kits require a little pre-assembly by the teacher to put together the gripper arm and to pair the receiver with the controller, but it's worth it. The gripper is so much sleeker than the clunky design described in the Tetrix Max builders' guide. The robots are remote-controlled with a double joystick controller (included with the kit) so you can configure the robots for arcade or tank-style driving. Pitsco sells a module that will allow autonomous control of the robot's motors using LEGO's EV3 or NXT, but this is an additional $54. Instead we added an NXT and a light sensor to each robot to give audio feedback (a beep or sound file) whenever the robots drove over little squares of blue tape. I think the kids had a lot more fun driving the robots around to find the tape than they would have had watching the robots find the tape autonomously.

After that activity, I started wondering if I could use that same technique to add a Vernier sensor to my robot. Sure enough, I built a little holder for Vernier's Magnetic Field Sensor, programmed the NXT to beep whenever it detected a magnet, and then scattered little neodymium disc magnets all over the floor. This would be even more fun for kids if the magnets were hidden underneath plastic cups or little Lego bricks.

PicoBoard

Lots of educators are using Scratch to teach elementary students animated computer programming. Scratch is a free programming language developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten at MIT's Media Lab. I think Scratch is an amazing tool, but being an engineer, I like when you can add a hands-on component to essentially a virtual environment. The folks at SparkFun have developed the PicoBoard, which can add an element of sensor control to students' animated creations. 

A few months ago, I bought a PicoBoard from SparkFun (only $35.96 with your educator discount). I'll admit that it was a bit tricky getting my computer to recognize it the first time (I needed an FTDI driver), but SparkFun has posted a wealth of online resources to help get your device up and running. My favorite 3 sensors are the slider, sound sensor, and light sensor. A really simple way to get started is to write a script to simply scale your sprite (animated character) based on the sensor value. For example, in the script shown above, when you put your finger over the light sensor (blocking out the light), the sprite shrinks, but when you shine a flashlight onto the sensor, the sprite becomes really large. Note that this script was written using the older version of Scratch (v1.4). I used it, because you can download this software directly onto your computer. SparkFun has a plug-in that you can add if you are using the online version of Scratch (v2.0).

Chromebooks

It's back-to-school season and I've been hearing a lot of chatter in the educational community about schools switching to Chromebooks. A Chromebook is a different breed of computer in that it is designed to be used primarily while connected to the internet. Unlike a more traditional laptop or desktop computer, its documents and other applications live in the cloud rather than on the unit's own hard drive. My initial reaction to this movement was somewhat incredulous, since many schools have fairly restrictive web usage policies. Teachers wage a constant battle with students sneaking off to chat rooms and online gaming sessions when given access to the internet. But I decided to check it out for myself.

I quickly discovered there are a daunting number of variables to consider when buying a Chromebook - price, size, speed, durability, battery, etc. But after doing a little research and checking out the back-to-school sales, I zeroed in on the CB3-111-C670 Acer (only $178 on Amazon). It's small and lightweight (11.6" at 2.43 lb) with a built-in webcam, Intel Celeron processor, Bluetooth, and a chiclet-style keyboard. I considered the Samsung Chromebook, since it's got a metal body over Acer's white plastic case, but I didn't think it was worth the extra cost or weight. Asus had a really nice Chromebook with a rotating touchscreen that can turn the Chromebook into a tablet, but I was a little turned off by the slower Rockchip processor. I also looked at HP's Chromebook, because they were highly rated, but the HP's do not have USB ports. Since I'm not totally convinced about the reliability of the "cloud," I felt I really needed a method of backup storage, and the Acer Chromebook comes with 2 USB ports, plus an SD card reader.

I haven't really done much with my Chromebook yet, except take it out of the box and turn it on, but I was really impressed with the wealth of educational apps that are already available from the Chromebook store. Once I try a few of them out, I'll come back with an updated review.

The Hexcalator

I was in Target the other day browsing through the toy department when I noticed a display of Vex robotics products. Vex has long been a competitor of Tetrix's metal robots, but they've recently redesigned their products to include plastic parts more in keeping with LEGO's robotic kits. I've been intrigued with their new design for a while now (I've seen them at several technology conferences this past year). So since they were right there in front of me (and the price was right), I decided to give one a try. I picked out the Hexcalator ball machine (only $29.99), because it looked like fun and I thought it would make an interesting demo for my fall workshops. Vex advertises this kit as an Intermediate-level build, only requiring 3 hours of assembly, for kids 8 years and above. I found their claim a little ambitious, since it took me 2 days to get my ball machine up and running.

The primary components of the Vex kits were rectangular plastic plates that snap together with tiny white pegs to form the basic structure. The initial assembly was not very difficult, but I found the instruction booklet quite tedious to follow. I'm a big believer in wordless pictorial diagrams, but in the Vex booklet, all the diagrams are poor reproductions of multiple dark gray plates overlapping one over the other. A parts banner runs across the top of the page, but there is no rhyme or reason to the scale between the various components (a tiny peg is drawn the same size as a large plate) making it very difficult to tell which part to actually use. It would have been so easy for Vex to call out the numerical sizing of each plate (ie. 3x4 or 4x12), so that I didn't have to stick my nose right into the booklet trying to count the holes.

I've read some reviews on the internet claiming that the Vex components are not very durable and I have to say that I wonder about that myself. In my workshop experience, young children (8 year olds in particular) are somewhat clumsy, and I cannot imagine this ball machine surviving intact if it were dropped onto the floor. I'm also not convinced that a typical 8 year old would have the patience and persistence to figure out the building instructions. It took me quite a while to get the machine's complicated gearing system to mesh smoothly (would an 8 year old bother with that?). But despite these concerns, I'm still determined to try to automate this kit with a motor and sensor for my next workshop. We'll see how that goes.

New Focus

When I initially created this blog, I wasn't sure what the focus would be. Should it be travel? office politics? diet and exercise? entertainment reviews? All quite interesting with the potential for a good dramatic read, but as time got away from me (has it really been 4 years???), I thought why not share some of the stuff I do every day in my job as a STEM Education Consultant. Just to clarify for those of you who are not acronym aficionados, this will not be a blog about gardening, but one devoted to hands-on activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Something New

I'm not doing too well on the exercise resolution, but I've been learning lots of new things. Bruce got an Xbox Kinect for Christmas, so I thought I'd try out the "Dance Central" game for some exercise. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to turn it on and about another 15 to figure out how to use it. I finally got the hand motions working, but I haven't programmed in my voice yet. I danced to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," and then spent another 15 minutes trying to figure out how to turn the controller off. Goodness, this is supposed to be a toy!!!

Resolutions

New Year's resolutions. Many people make them, but how long do they stick? In the 2011 quest to find my "style," I've made a few.

First, is to learn something new every day. Shouldn't be too difficult, especially since I have access to the internet.

Second, my style is more athletic, both in activity and look, so I propose to exercise every day and go on more adventures. Hopefully, the end result will also mean the loss of a few pounds.

Third, spend more time with family and friends. I swear, it seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the New Millenium. Time goes by so fast and people are so stressed out trying to keep pace. So I propose to do something nice for the people around me to make their day just a little bit brighter.

That last is a little schmaltzy, but aren't most resolutions???