happypamama Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 (edited) I'm considering putting together a couple of half credit electives for my rising ninth grader in robotics and/or electronics, using Great Courses as a basis. I need some additional suggestions for books as well as hands on projects (that do not involve joining a robotics team or spending an absolute fortune). I can use Google, but I'm unsure about what projects are actually teen level. I might take his younger brother through the giant SnapCircuits student booklet teaching guide with all the explanations and everything, but does anyone make a similar guided project set that would let a high schooler practice principles of electronics and electricity? We also have one of the robots that is supposed to teach programming, but again, I'm not sure if it would be considered high school level or not. I'm looking for fun electives that will also teach him some useful stuff, not so much core courses; I don't need the most challenging thing ever, but I want reasonable for a young high schooler. Edited March 17, 2019 by happypamama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 For robotics: I know you already nixed this in your post, but for robotics, you'll absolutely get the most "bang for your buck" by joining up with a robotics team or robotics after school club. SO much is learned about robotics through the group problem-solving and through competition (given specific challenges for the robot to meet/overcome). If the entrance fee is out of range of your budget, ask about scholarships or financial helps. Or see if the group advisor would be willing to waive or reduce the fee for your student in exchange for your student doing yard work or other labor for the group advisor. Coding is something needed for programming a robot, and there are lots of free websites for teaching yourself coding, so that might be a first step:Code AcademyCode.orgFree Code Camp For electronics: - see if your local community college has an electronics course your student could do via dual enrollment; in some areas, vocational-tech courses such as these are free or reduced cost for high school students doing them via dual enrollment - check your local hobby shop or do a search for a local electronics group -- you might be able to find a teacher/mentor this way, but at least you'll have some people who can guide choices for beginning projects, and who can provide beginning tips and ideas - OR, what about a teen/adult with electronics background in your church / homeschool / neighbor / social circle who would be willing/able to help guide your student's self study - free 101 Science: Electronics Course Outline -- detailed step-by-step series of links to articles to self-guide through your own beginning electronics course - Electronics for Absolute Beginners -- free instructions for projects - Beanz: Electronics Projects for Beginners BEST of luck! Warmest regards, Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 17, 2019 Author Share Posted March 17, 2019 Thanks LoriD -- great ideas as always! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAJinBE Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 Elegoo has a nice kit for Arduino. We used it in coop for the 10 to 16 age group and it was a big hit. The Arduino Project Handbooks volume 1 and 2 are good books to go with it. Parallax makes a nice robot kit for Arduino too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 18, 2019 Author Share Posted March 18, 2019 5 hours ago, CAJinBE said: Elegoo has a nice kit for Arduino. We used it in coop for the 10 to 16 age group and it was a big hit. The Arduino Project Handbooks volume 1 and 2 are good books to go with it. Parallax makes a nice robot kit for Arduino too. Thank you! I will check them out. Now, when a kid does some of these projects for actual credit, how do you record that? Do they write up some sort of lab report-ish thing like for biology, a demonstration sort of lab instead of an experimental one? And do they need a writeup for every single project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 1 hour ago, happypamama said: Now, when a kid does some of these projects for actual credit, how do you record that? Do they write up some sort of lab report-ish thing like for biology, a demonstration sort of lab instead of an experimental one? And do they need a writeup for every single project? Wouldn't the finished project BE the necessary "output" to show synthesis of info, and be proof of learning? What about a photograph as a record of completion? Yes, I think doing a demo or a write-up for one or two projects would also be good "output" for the credit. I personally wouldn't think a report or paper would be required for every single project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAJinBE Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 I would give 1/2 a credit for 90 hours of work. I think drawing schematics and brief descriptions of how something works would be sufficient documentation along with photographs and videos. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 20 hours ago, Lori D. said: Wouldn't the finished project BE the necessary "output" to show synthesis of info, and be proof of learning? What about a photograph as a record of completion? Yes, I think doing a demo or a write-up for one or two projects would also be good "output" for the credit. I personally wouldn't think a report or paper would be required for every single project. 18 hours ago, CAJinBE said: I would give 1/2 a credit for 90 hours of work. I think drawing schematics and brief descriptions of how something works would be sufficient documentation along with photographs and videos. Oh, yes, I will take photos for our portfolios, for sure, since we have to do those here in PA, but I wasn't sure what a college would want to see. I don't think he'd want to do a write-up for every project, as that seems like it would become tedious, and I want it to be fun as well as educational. But a few reports, schematics, descriptions, plus photos will hopefully suffice. He has a host of younger brothers who will happily play audience for demos. 😉 Thanks, both of you! I think we will enjoy this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khope1 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 I do not know anything about this product, but am currently doing research on it for my daughter. Good luck! https://42electronics.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Make: Electronics by Charles Platt. He also has a sequel, Make: More Electronics if the first book is too basic. It has a good balance between hands on projects and explanations and theory. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAJinBE Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 3 hours ago, daijobu said: Make: Electronics by Charles Platt. He also has a sequel, Make: More Electronics if the first book is too basic. It has a good balance between hands on projects and explanations and theory. There is a kit available on Amazon for this book. I purchased it but haven't worked through it yet. I was considering it for coop but we went with the Elegoo Arduino kit instead because I thought the kids would be able to do more exciting projects. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EKO6FZU?aaxitk=KCWtxx8D5Ij9D3dbRre3tg&pd_rd_i=B01EKO6FZU&pf_rd_p=e037c154-e093-48a4-b127-477e5e294e3f&hsa_cr_id=1381623850401&sb-ci-n=productDescription&sb-ci-v=Make%3A Electronics Component Pack 1 - Second Edition Kit Follows The Latest Make%3A Electronics 2nd ed Educational Book by Charles Platt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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