Tag Archives: STEM Education

Robotics Sensors: A Complete Guide for Middle and High School Educators

Sensors are fundamental to programming robotics. They are used to recognize environmental data (things like temperature, light levels, and motion) and provide the information they collect to computer code. If the computer code is looking for that information

micro:bit how to Program the Logo Touch Sensor

This project shows how to use the touch sensor at the top of the micro:bit. The touch sensor is disguised as the micro:bit logo

How do Touchscreens work?

Touchscreens are a common feature of our daily lives. We use them on devices like smartphones, ATM displays, and car consoles. 

micro:bit Beginner – How to Program a Blinking Icon

  Description This micro:bit beginner project is for people getting started with the micro:bit and with writing computer code. It requires no previous coding experience and no knowledge of the micro:bit. In fact, you don’t even really need a micro:bit because you can use the simulator available in MakeCode. If you are using an actual micro:bit, you will need to know how to plug it into your computer. Video Programming Language MakeCode Blocks Difficulty Level Easy beginner Programming Concepts Covered...

What are Critical and Computational Thinking?

Critical thinking skills play an important role in STEM-based science education. Computational thinking is a newer concept that describes the skills needed to program computers. How do these two concepts apply to education?

micro:bit Add-on: touch:bit

The touch:bit is a micro:bit add-on created by Pimoroni. It has six pads that use capacitive touch to let you communicate with your micro:bit. You can use the touchpads to control behavior in your micro:bit or in another device using the radio communication functionality of the micro:bit.

micro:bit How to use a servo to make a waving hand

Servo motors are a go-to tool for making things move. This project uses a standard servo, connected directly to the micro:bit, to create a waving hand. The hand can be traced or printed and cut. I used a Silhouette Cameo to create the hand I used. You can decorate the hand before attaching it to the servo.

micro:bit: Make a Compass

The project uses the micro:bit to make a compass. The micro:bit has a compass that identifies magnetic north. The code uses input from that and the accelerometer to determine the angle of the micro:bit compared to the direction of magnetic north.

micro:bit add-on: Kiktronik ZIP Tiles

The Zip Tile is an 8x8 array of LEDs. Read more about how each LED can be programmed to be a certain color and have a certain behavior.

micro:bit How to make an electric circuit

This video walks you through a project to set up a circuit using a micro:bit. Use it for an enrichment activity to go along with a science class on Energy or Electricity, or to illustrate the Science and Engineering Practice of Planning and Carrying out an Investigation.