Category: Computer Technology

Arduino Blinking LED Activity

[Lesson Plan]

This overview is a good introduction to the Arduino.

Watch the tutorial and reproduce the experiment that is done in the video.

Note!
Do not plug in the USB cable until you have had your circuit checked by the instructor.

Your circuit should look similar to this:

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This is a schematic for your circuit:

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This is the code you should have:

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Extension Activity

Experiment with your program to determine the minimum delay you can have before the LED no longer appears to be blinking? What “rate” does this correspond to?

Questions

  • What is an Arduino?
  • What counts as the “input” for this assignment?
  • What is the “output”?
  • If the delay is changed to 500 milliseconds, what is the flashing rate?
  • How would you modify your program to use a different pin as the output?

Note!

After you have the experiment completed, call your instructor over to have it marked.

Arduino Empty Program Activity

Enter the following “empty” program into the Arduino editor. Learn how to upload the program into your Arduino.

void setup() {
}

void loop() {
}

Save as “Empty Program”.

Arduino Program Structure
(image from the Sparkfun manual – used with permission)

Email Assignment

Awkward!
Picture source unknown.

Class Email Protocol

Be sure to include the course code in the subject line as well as some indication of what the subject is. Do not leave the subject line blank. An appropriate subject for this email assignment would be:

TGJ2O Email Assignment

When replying, please include any previous dialog we have already had.

Assignment Overview

Send me an email from your “permanent and professional use” email account (see below). In it, please tell me:

  • why you took this course,
  • what you are hoping to do in this course,
  • whether or not you are pursuing a career related to this course,
  • what background you have in this subject (hobbies, previous courses), and
  • what mark you hope to get.

(It might help to copy-and-paste the questions into your email.)

Note: be sure to read the Class Email Protocol above so you know what is expected in the subject line.

After I receive your email, I will send a quick reply so you are added to my address book.

The email address for you to send to will shared with you in  class.

What is a “Professional and Permanent” Email Account?

A professional use email account is one that you would not be embarrassed to use with your employer or with the public. It must also be an accurate representation of your full name, not a nickname. Also, it must be an email address that is not related to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Good, permanent email hosts are Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo. My own preference is Gmail because it integrates with tools like Google Drive and Docs, Google Photos, Google Keep, and other products.

Electronics Safety Poster Assignment

Use Electronics Safely

Learning Goals

  • I will research and understand at least 10 electrical safety tips
  • I will make an aesthetically pleasing poster listing these safety tips

Instructions

Research various electronics safety rules on the Internet and use Google Drawings to make a safety poster with at least 10 rules on it.
Your poster must:
  • contain at least two graphics, relevant to the topic
  • not have any spelling or grammar errors on it
  • be aesthetically pleasing
  • credit the site(s) where the rules and graphics came from

Evaluation

The safety posters will be evaluated in consultation with the student so feedback can be immediately provided. They will be marked for:
  • spelling,
  • grammar,
  • content (10 relevant rules),
  • 2+ appropriate graphics,
  • citation, and
  • aesthetics.

Note!

If you did this assignment previously then create a new poster using Affinity Photo or Affinity Designer. You must also provide at least five graphics instead of just two.

(Image from http://safety.lovetoknow.com/safety-poster-electricity)

mBot Activities

  • Find and Share an mBot-related Website
  • Line Follower
  • Ultrasonic Sensor | resource 2
    • Challenge: write a program that drops the mBot’s speed within 50 cm of the wall and then again within 10 cm and then comes to a complete stop at 5 cm. Coordinate the LED for each range (> 50, < 50, <10, 5) to be blue, green, yellow, and red.
  • <more to come?>
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ACSE Conference Reminder

I’m just reminding Computer Studies and Computer Technology teachers about the ACSE conference coming up on Saturday, February, 25th at the Seneca@York campus of Seneca College, Toronto.

We’ve got a great lineup for both subject areas, including sessions on the Raspberry Pi, Vex Robotics, Arduinos, Internet of Things, Hummingbird robotics, computer security, Python, Database & Data Science, software testing, Swift, and more.

Registration is just $90 (or $45 for student teachers and retirees), but only until February 17 (this Friday), after which it goes up to $110/$55.

Some of you have asked if you can bring students along, and we think that’s an excellent idea! Just register them using the lower rate of $45 (or $55 after the early-bird rate deadline).

For further details (location, parking, schedule, etc.), see http://www.acse.net/conferences/2017.

I hope to see you there!