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Arduino Page

This is one of the many Arduino Starter Kits.  We use
it to teach students an introduction to Electronics, Computers, Software and Hardware.
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Arduino Kit Picture.jpg

Part I. Course Description

  • A 15-18 session, fun filled, learning experience which introduces the fundamental elements of Electronics, Hardware and Software.

Prerequisite

  • No prior knowledge of electronics is required.  Only the desire to have fun with experiments.

General Education

  • Students should be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide at a 6th grade level for simple projects.

Required Textbook & Course Material

  • Course material taken from the Learn Arduino Basics textbook, will be provided.  Students wishing to purchase their own copy of the text will be given the opportunity to do so.

  • Additional information such as other projects and documentation is readily available on the internet.  Students will be given the information to obtain this information on their own.

Part II. Course Requirements

  • An internet connection is required in order to download the course software from the Arduino Web Page.  Once downloaded, no Internet connection is required for the various experiments.

  • Experiments will run on Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

Technical Assistance

  • Course facilitators will be available on site during all experiment activities.

To provide students with the fundamentals of electronics, an introduction to hardware, such as microprocessors, and an introduction to software.  The Arduino Software is a derivative of the C++ computer language. 

  • Introduction to electronic circuits

  • Introduction to hardware such as printed circuits boards, cables and connectors, and microprocessors

  • Introduction to the Arduino Programming Language using a (RISC) Reduced Instruction Set Computer

Students will meet the objectives listed above through a combination of the following activities in this course:

  1. Short, ungraded, question and answer periods will be provided by the facilitator.  These sessions will serve to instruct, reinforce and measure theoretical progress.

  2. Having the ability to assemble, test and troubleshoot each project will provide instruction as well an entertaining period of project based learning.

  3. Students must attend sessions and complete each experiment in order to obtain the maximum information and enjoyment from each project.

Part III. Topic Outline

  • Session 01:  Pre Arduino

    • Introduction to Electronics:

      • Identify components (Switch/Bulb/Battery/Diode and LED/Ground/AC and DC)

      • Wiring Conventions (Black = Ground)

      • Current flow (Electron ) – to +

      • Experiments (Flashlight – Blink)

      • Logic circuits ( Binary )

  • Session 02:  Reading Temperature (Exp. #1)

    • Introduction to Cables

    • Introduction to the Breadboard

    • LM35 Temperature sensor( Vcc / Vo / Ground )

    • Serial Monitor

    • Arduino Software (C++) and changing the program to produce Fahrenheit from Celsius

  • Session 03:    Ultrasonic Range Finder (Exp. #10)

    • Calculation of speed of sound

    • Arduino Software conversion from Centimeters to Inches

  • Session 04:  Sensing Light (Exp. #2)

    • Introduction to photocells

    • Resistors (Color Coding)

    • Ohm’s Law

    • Voltage Divider

  • Session 05:  Automatic Light Switch (Exp. #3)

    • Photocells

    • Voltage dividers (2)

  • Session 06:   LED Serial Switch (Exp. #4)

    • Using “Serial” to toggle LEDs on and off via keyboard

    • Review Sketch software and Keys ( r, y, g, w )

  • Session 07:   LED Knight Rider (Exp.#5)

    • Named after a 80’s TV show car with LED’s

    • Software:  The “for” loop.

  • Session 08:   LED Bar Graph (Exp. #6)

    • A continuation of Session 07

    • Adds the “Array”

    • Adds the Potentiometer

  • Session 09:   Sound Melody (Exp. #7)

    • Two dimensional “Array”

    • Software “Tone”

  • Session 10:   Sound Pitch Follower (Exp. #8)

    • A continuation of Session 09

    • Adds a photocell and resistor

  • Session 11:   Sound Knock Sensor (Exp. #9)

    • Introduction of the Piezo Element

    • Discussion of the Piezo Electric Effect

  • Session 12:   Servo Motor Introduction (Exp. #11)

    • Definition and types (Servo vs. Stepper)

    • Limitations

    • Uses

  • Session 13:   Servo Motor Control (Exp. #12)

    • A continuation of Session 12

    • Control via potentiometer

  • Session 14:   Stepper Motors (Introduction) (Exp. #13)

    • New parts:

      • Stepper Motor

      • Stepper Motor Driver

      • Accuracy

  • Session 15:   Stepper Motor (Control) (Exp. #14)

    • A continuation of Session 14

    • Control via potentiometer

  • Session 16:   Using the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) (Exp. #15)

    • LCD NOT LED:  Liquid Crystal Display

    • Description: ( 16 X 2 ) 16 Horizontal characters and 2 Lines

    • Software:  Print control using the “lcd.print(”hello, world!”) function

    • Change the words to Hello Jim

       

Part IV: Grading Policy

Letter Grade Assignment

There is NO passing or failing grades for this project, however in order for the student to measure his/her own performance and to allow the Facilitator to identify the variable needs of the student the following is a guide for Letter Grade Assignment:

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Letter Grade  Percentage  Performance

      A            93-100%   Excellent Work

      A-           90-92%     Nearly Excellent Work

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      B+          87-89%     Very Good Work

      B            83-86%     Good Work

      B-           80-82%     Mostly Good Work

 

      C+         77-79%     Above Average Work

      C           73-76%     Average Work

      C-          70-72%     Mostly Average Work

Part V: Course Policies

Participation

Students are expected to participate in all experiments.

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